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Innovations
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Leading the Charge for Better Batteries Harvey Black Abstract
image credit: Matt Ray/EHP Millions of batteries are disposed of annually. Contained within the majority of these widely used energy sources are, however, heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, and mercury that can cause serious human and animal health effects. To address these problems, the battery industry and energy research groups are searching for technology to make batteries more environmentally friendly and to make them last longer. A shift away from the current standard nickel cadmium to lithium ion batteries is already underway, and researchers are on the trail to find a replacement for cobalt, which is widely used in battery electrodes. Others are turning to unconventional sources for battery energy such as bacteria found in sea mud and submicroscopic nanotubes.
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