State Lawmakers Push Federal Regulations of Lithium-Ion Batteries

Yesterday, April 24th, in Washington, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Kristen Gillibrand, and Representative of the 15th District of New York State Ritchie Torres, urged the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to continue with the finalization of federal regulations for lithium-ion batteries. 

Lithium-ion batteries are commonly used in productions such as e-bikes, electric scooters, and other electrical forms of transportation. Some lithium-ion batteries are manufactured outside of the United States without safety standards which can lead to some batteries exploding. Due to this, New York City has reported over 1,000 fires with 34 deaths since 2019 from rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. 

Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, along with Representative Torres will be voting in favor of the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on Wednesday, April 30th.