(Non-)leaking of electric scooter batteries dumped for more than a year in a freshwater pond.

BACKGROUND: Electric scooters become popular in Western cities as new mobility option. Start-up companies rent out e-scooters in major cities, such as Paris, Cologne, Copenhagen and elsewhere. However, the scooters are frequently vandalized and thrown into surface waters. There is concern about a new kind of water pollution from leaking scooter batteries. METHODS: Two scooter batteries (lithium ion type) were dumped into artificial 200 L ponds for over a year. Concentrations of Li, Mn, Co, Ni and Cu in the pond water were several times analyzed by ICP-MS over a period of 16 months. RESULTS: In ponds with dumped batteries, copper levels in water were elevated (8.9 to 40.6 µg/L versus ≤0.6 µg/L in controls), as well as nickel levels (4.8 to 7.2 µg/L versus ≤0.6 µg/L in controls), while lithium concentrations were only slightly higher (7.1 to 9.6 µg/L versus 6.4 to 6.7 µg/L in controls), as were levels of Co (<1 µg/L, except one sample). Manganese was lower in ponds with battery than in controls. CONCLUSIONS: Less than 1‰ of the toxic metals Ni, Co and Cu stored in the battery pack was recovered from the test ponds, and these amounts can be explained by corrosion of the connections and of the steel encapsulation of the batteries. No elevated levels of Mn were observed in the test ponds. We conclude that the batteries are well sealed against leaking, and dilution in natural water bodies will minimize the hazard to aquatic organisms. Nonetheless, rapid removal of batteries dumped by vandals into rivers and lakes from the surface waters is advised because no sealing can hold forever.

Definition, categorization, and environmental risk assessment of biopharmaceuticals.

Biopharmaceuticals are associated with the revolutionary treatment of various diseases, and according to the European Medicines Agency, biopharmaceuticals derived from biological sources are perceived to not cause significant environmental risk. However, there is currently no broadly recognized definition or categorization of biopharmaceuticals despite the fact that improved technology has made it possible to modify them to obtain more efficient medicines, thereby raising questions about their biological origins and risks. The aim of this paper, based on a literature review, is to derive a clear definition of biopharmaceuticals and evaluate the European Union's regulation and environmental risk assessment (ERA) procedures for them. Nine different definitions were identified, and it is evident that the term "biopharmaceuticals" is used ambiguously. We therefore recommend that biopharmaceuticals are defined as complex molecules derived from a biological source, with the purpose to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure diseases or conditions of human beings. Furthermore, we recommend that biopharmaceuticals should be categorized according to their biological structure: 1) amino acids, 2) nucleic acids, and 3) vaccines. Only 11 studies were identified as being relevant to ERA, and we lack useful data for hazard identification. More research is needed to examine the ecotoxicity, fate, and stability of most biopharmaceuticals-and categorical regulatory exclusion seems unfavorable in this regard.