China Might Have Moved Too Fast on Lithium Production

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

A recent study in China shows that pregnant women in Beijing have a LOT more lithium in their systems than women in other Chinese cities. While it’s natural for everyone to have some lithium in their systems from natural food and water sources, the levels can only be explained by lithium pollution that has found its way into these women. The exact sources are not yet revealed, and given the nature of government in China, they might never be given to the public. But, there’s something we can learn from this.

Unlike the United States, wealthy people and entrenched private interests don’t call the shots on industrial investment in China. Fossil fuel companies in particular have worked hard to prevent the emergence of a robust lithium battery supply chain for vehicles. Before lithium ion batteries were the best chemistry, oil companies were known to have stopped development of nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries for anything but hybrids. Doubts about the future of EVs (again, sown by fossil fuel interests and the politicians they rent) have also played a huge role in preventing governments and corporations in North America and most of Europe from investing.

Meanwhile, in Beijing, the more authoritarian government had the upper hand. Because the government had more strategic foresight and fewer constraints, nothing prevented China from investing heavily in both battery technology research and more importantly in battery production. We have to keep in mind that this was started in 2001, and was first meant for electronic devices like laptops, cellular phones, smartphones, and such, but this massive head start put China on the fast track to EV production as the government wisely invested more and more into the technology in recent years.

At this point, I’m going to engage in some speculation, but it’s at least informed speculation. It’s very common for developing countries (China was developing when it started the battery program in 2001) to ignore environmental concerns to get ahead. In the eyes of developing countries, it’s only fair, because today’s advanced economies got there doing the same thing. The difference is that they know going in about the environmental problems that advanced countries had to stumble their way through and resolve.

By taking this shortcut and investing in lithium production without concerning themselves too much with pollution, Chinese leaders have created a mess for themselves to clean up. Because lithium is often used to treat conditions like bipolar disorder, the effects of it on a pregnancy are well-known. Some studies have shown a small increase in heart defects, while one study shows that the chances of pre-term birth are elevated, while affecting the health of the mother in negative ways.

Because everyone is likely being exposed to lithium without everyone needing it for mental disorders, it’s important to keep in mind that it causes muscle weakness, fatigue, weight gain, shaky hands, frequent urination, nausea, and other side effects. The doses might not be enough to affect very many people, but it likely is reducing life quality for at least some small part of the population.

The source of the lithium might not be associated with lithium mining or battery production. People urinating it out after taking it could be putting it into the water supply over time (this seems unlikely because this would happen in multiple cities). Natural lithium deposits could also be getting into the water or food supply in some non-industrial way, which could affect one city more than another.

Either way, it’s important to think ahead about the environmental effects of a new technology and not ignore them to get ahead.

Featured image by Kyle Field.