[Shadow_Group] Fw: Exploding cell phones

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

Yahoo News.

Exploding Cell Phones a Growing Problem 

Tue Nov 23, 6:38 PM ET   Technology - AP 
 

By ELIZABETH WOLFE, Associated Press Writer 

WASHINGTON - Curtis Sathre said it was like a bomb going off. His
13-year-old son Michael stood stunned, ears ringing, hand gushing blood
after his cell phone exploded. Safety officials have received 83 reports
of cell phones exploding or catching fire in the past two years, usually
because of bad batteries or chargers. 


AP Photo 
 
   

Burns to the face, neck, leg and hip are among the dozens of injury
reports the Consumer Product Safety Commission (news - web sites) has
received. The agency is providing tips for cell phone users to avoid such
accidents and has stepped up oversight of the wireless industry. There
have been three voluntary battery recalls, and the CPSC is working with
companies to create better battery standards. 


"CPSC is receiving more and more reports of incidents involving cell
phones, and we're very concerned of the potential for more serious
injuries or more fires," said agency spokesman Scott Wolfson. 


U.S. phone makers and carriers say most fires and explosions are caused
by counterfeit batteries and note that in a country with some 170 million
cell phone users, the number of accidents is extremely low. 


"Is it a problem? It has turned up, you bet. But statistically it is
extraordinarily rare," said John Walls, spokesman for the Cellular
Telecommunications & Internet Association. "But the fact that it has
happened certainly has the industry's attention." 


Some consumer advocates say the cause goes beyond bad batteries making
their way to the market. They point to the increasing pressure on battery
and phone makers to fit more capabilities into small instruments. 


"If you're cramming more and more power in a small space, what you're
making is a small bomb," said Carl Hilliard, president of the
California-based Wireless Consumers Alliance, which has been tracking
incidents of cell phone fires and explosions. 


Though legitimate batteries can go wrong, there is a greater chance that
poorly made, counterfeit ones will lack safety devices to detect
overheating or overcharging. The lithium-ion batteries found in most cell
phones can overheat if, for example, heat vents are covered. 


The CPSC is trying to determine if improved venting is enough by itself
to ensure safety. "We have seen temperatures as high as 600 degrees, and
you can have a torch-like effect if these batteries don't function
properly," Wolfson said. 


The commission has announced three battery recalls since January, one
from Verizon Wireless and two from Kyocera Wireless Corp. Kyocera's first
recall was blamed on a supplier whose standards had slipped. The other
recalls were attributed to suppliers bringing counterfeits into
distribution chains. 


Kyocera, which recalled 1 million batteries last month, said it has
changed vendors and doubled efforts to test its own batteries. 


Hoping to address problems that may lie beyond their supply lines,
members of the wireless industry began collaborating last week with the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), a
standard-setting organization, to create voluntary design and performance
standards for all batteries. 


"There needs to be high-quality batteries for these cell phones. You have
a lot of power in a very small product, so it's really key," said Wolfson
of the CPSC, which is participating in the meetings between wireless
industry members and IEEE. 


Carriers and manufacturers also are urging cellular users to exercise
reasonable care of batteries, chargers and phones and to purchase them
directly from phone companies rather than secondhand dealers or off the
Internet. 


But even following those recommendations sometimes isn't enough, as bad
products inevitably find their way onto store shelves. 


Angela Karasek, a 21-year-old paralegal in Philadelphia, bought her
Motorola phone and battery together from a Nextel store. She awoke one
night a few weeks ago to what she described as a pinging sound and then
saw fire. Her cell phone battery had blown out, igniting a doll about
three feet away. She ran to her parents' room for help, and her father
quickly put out the fire. 


"I'm just a light sleeper, and for some reason I sat up and saw all the
flames on the doll," Karasek said. 

   



Marcelino Gonzalez of Brentwood, N.Y., said he suffered second-degree
burns after his Kyocera phone exploded in his hand as he turned it on to
make a call. 

"If it was to my face it would have blown up in my face," said Gonzalez,
62, who has contacted a lawyer. 

Michael Sathre, who is expected to fully recover from his wounds, was
picking his fully charged Verizon LG cell phone off the floor when it
exploded by his side. The family chose not to sue and has instead allowed
the companies involved and a consumer group to come to their house to
study the damage, in the hopes it won't happen to someone else. 

"It took my son two months to decide to even be near a cell phone," said
his mother, Cris. "But he needs one." 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.resist.ca/pipermail/shadowgroup-l/attachments/20041129/7fadf0e0/attachment.html>