The Crown Jewel of EV’s: Lithium Battery Production Results in Massive ‘Forever Chemicals’

Updated

By Tracy Beanz & Michelle Edwards

The deep-state money-grabbers getting rich off the international climate change hoax are a deplorable gang. Not only are they colluding to inflate sales of electric vehicles, but the chemicals needed for lithium-ion batteries are adding to the toxic PFAS, or forever chemicals, contaminating the earth and all of its inhabitants, and some of the key companies responsible for developing them have been accused of misleading regulators, hiding information, and contaminating communities.

According to a recent study, the proliferation of lithium batteries is rapidly becoming a significant source of a troubling subclass of PFAS contamination known as bisperfluoroalkyl sulfonamides (bis-FASIs). The urgency of this issue cannot be overstated, as underscored by the words of the study’s author, Lee Ferguson of Duke University:

“We’ve discovered that an understudied type of PFAS or ‘forever chemicals’ called bis-FASIs, such as those used in lithium-ion battery production, are an emerging issue not only for communities near manufacturing sites but also anywhere these batteries are thrown away.

In North Carolina specifically, we’ve found these chemicals seeping from landfills into leachates, which highlights the need for more studies to assess the sources and spreading of these compounds here and across the country.”

As outlined in CLIMATE THE MOVIE, the climate change narrative, invented by the global elites, has cultivated an elaborate multi-trillion-dollar industry that has nothing to do with saving the earth and everything to do with suppressing and controlling its people. By guilting society into electric vehicles dependent upon a power source controlled by the flip of a switch, the scam has created monumental vested interests that aggressively censor and attack anyone who challenges their self-serving scheme.

Dubbed “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment, PFAS—short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances—are a group of over 10,000 man-made chemicals found in countless everyday products. They have been found in drinking water, produce, animals, and people. Now detected on every continent and in the deepest parts of the ocean, PFAS are in everything from dental floss to cleaning products to non-stick coatings, as well as industrial products like firefighting foam. Exposure to even small amounts of these toxic chemicals has been linked to liver problems, kidney disease, prostate, ovarian, and testicular cancer, fertility, and a weakened immune system.

And now we learn PFAS are in the climate change redeemer, the almighty lithium battery, opening a massive door to a brand new source of PFAS pollution. Indeed, this is certainly a step backward, not forward. The study, published on July 8, 2024, in the journal Nature Communications, found that bis-FASIs (known to affect the liver of rats) emitted into the air at lithium battery sites may travel long distances, contaminating areas far away from the facilities where the chemicals are made and used. These chemicals are manufactured by major chemical companies, including 3M and Solvay, and are deceptively marketed as electrolytes that extend battery life and maintain battery performance over time.

Another chemical used in lithium battery production is polyvinylidene fluoride or PVDF. A specialty plastic, PVDF is used as a binder partly because it can withstand the chemical reaction necessary to create charge. According to a report by The Examination, PVDF is a chemical with numerous functions that are tough to replace. Already considered a forever chemical by the European Union, the manufacturing process to make PVDF can create forever chemical byproducts, such as PFAS, that do not break down naturally in the body or the environment.

Indeed, with the frantic push for EVs and, thus, lithium batteries, the demand for PVDR is staggering. As the left pushes batteries over natural gas, missing from the conversation altogether is the fact that with the potential for lithium to be extracted from wastewater generated from fracking during domestic natural gas production, America has the opportunity to change the energy game and become less dependent upon China. Noting that fracking may offer the cleanest, most environmentally friendly way to produce natural gas energy and harvest domestic lithium, State Sen. Doug Mastriano remarked:

“The great irony is the same climate extremists who oppose harvesting fossil fuels under all circumstances are dependent on lithium for solar panels and for the battery components they need for things like electric cars, which often are powered on electricity generated by natural gas.”

Nonetheless, with the stringent energy regulations under the Biden administration, a conversation around fracking to produce natural gas and lithium is not part of the deep state’s EV agenda. Alas, neither is a conversation about deadly PFAS related to lithium production. According to The Examination, six years ago, less than 10 percent of PVDF global production was for batteries, with the rest for cable coatings, pipes, and other things. However, nearly 50 percent of PVDF manufactured today is for EV batteries. By 2028, that number is expected to double. Thanks to President Joe Biden, the United States currently has 267 new battery projects around the nation, with 69 of them in the “battery belt” Southeast.

 

The study in Nature revealed that analysis of several municipal landfill leachates in the southeastern part of the country revealed bis-FASI concentrations approaching one part per billion. This discovery indicates that these lethal chemical compounds can enter the environment by disposing of products such as lithium-ion batteries. If we aren’t vigilant, lithium battery production will soon contaminate our nation.

Concerningly, the lack of transparency around these and other forever chemicals used in lithium battery production is a genuine concern. This lack of openness and honesty is a huge red flag and confirmation that reducing climate change is not the goal. With many industry practices hidden from the public, like Big Pharma’s influence over healthcare, the United States and Europe have allowed chemical companies to self-report the production and emission of these pollutants for decades. This reckless business practice ensured that regulators and the general public were clueless about the potential harm posed by these chemicals.

Even now, with the dangers of PFAS making headlines, The Examination reported that the industry remains “tight-lipped” about how much lithium battery-related PFAS are being produced and how much pollution has resulted from that production. This lack of information—and knowledge that the same companies that poisoned us with forever chemicals are now essential players in producing lithium batteries, and thus poisoning us even more—is absolutely unacceptable, especially considering the government incentives, grants, and loans around the globe offered to support, promote, and accelerate the push for electric vehicles powered by lithium-ion batteries.

Once again, taxpayers are footing the bill for a misguided project guaranteed to deliver harm and steal freedom.

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Tracy Beanz & Michelle Edwards

Tracy Beanz is an investigative journalist with a focus on corruption. She is known for her unbiased, in-depth coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. She hosts the Dark to Light podcast, found on all major video and podcasting platforms. She is a bi-weekly guest on the Joe Pags Radio Show, has been on Steve Bannon’s WarRoom and is a frequent guest on Emerald Robinson’s show. Tracy is Editor-in-chief at UncoverDC.com.