US EditionWetlands Trap Toxic Metals After Battery Plant Fire Scatters Debris
Scientists found about 25 metric tons of heavy metals deposited in wetlands, contaminating soils and entering local food chains after the Moss Landing battery fire.
- On Jan. 16, 2025, Vistra Energy's Moss Landing battery facility caught fire, depositing about 25 metric tons of heavy metals over half a square mile of Elkhorn Slough wetlands.
- Thermal runaway in lithium‑ion batteries caused the intense blaze, with researchers' plume estimates showing 2.2 million to 3 million pounds of burned material and 55%–80% of batteries burned.
- Researchers using portable X‑ray fluorescence and SEM found sharp increases in nickel, manganese and cobalt, with nickel levels rising more than 100 times from 246 to 3,702 ppm, then falling after rain and tides, as Ivano Aiello and Charlie Endris reported.
- Researchers warn deposited metals can enter food chains and bioaccumulate in local wildlife, while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency leads cleanup as hundreds of local residents report respiratory problems and headaches amid multiple lawsuits against Vistra Energy.
- Amid broader scrutiny, California Legislature passed containment and monitoring rules after the fire, while Vistra Energy and Monterey County scientists prepare a sampling report expected next year.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Hanford Sentinel
New study: California’s Moss Landing battery fire dumped 55,000 pounds of toxic metals into wildlife-rich marshes
A major fire in January at one of the world’s largest battery storage plants in Moss Landing showered 55,000 pounds of toxic metals across the landscape within a mile of the plant, a new scientific study has found.
Wetlands trap toxic metals after battery plant fire scatters debris
When fire broke out at the world's largest battery energy storage facility in January 2025, its thick smoke blanketed surrounding wetlands, farms and nearby communities on the central California coast.
The Conversation
littlebytesnews.comWhen the world’s largest battery power plant caught fire, toxic metals rained down – wetlands captured the fallout
A battery energy storage facility that was built inside an old power plant burned from Jan. 16-18, 2025. Mike TakakiWhen fire broke out at the world’s largest battery energy storage facility in January 2025, its thick smoke blanketed surrounding wetlands, farms and nearby communities on the central California coast. Highways closed, residents evacuated and firefighters could do little but watch as debris and ash rained down. People living in the…
Study confirms metal fallout spread across wetlands after battery fire at Moss Landing
Earlier this year, the smoke plume that rose from a fire at the world’s largest battery facility in Monterey County hovered to the east over Elkhorn Slough and Hester Marsh. Immediately, scientists from San Jose State University’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories rushed to analyze soil and water samples and found dramatic increases in battery metals. Last week, that research was published in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports. The evid…
Independent study reveals heavy metals near Elkhorn Slough after Moss Landing fire
A study from researchers at San Jose State University’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories estimates that nearly 55,000 pounds of heavy metals were dumped into soil near Elkhorn Slough following January’s Moss Landing battery fire. It’s the first independent study of the fire’s impacts published in a scientific journal. The post Independent study reveals heavy metals near Elkhorn Slough after Moss Landing fire appeared first on Lookout Santa Cruz.
Scientists Confirm Metal Fallout in Elkhorn Slough From World’s Largest Battery Storage Fire : Indybay
Scientists from San José State University’s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories (MLML) have confirmed that fallout from the fire at the Vistra Energy battery facility at the Moss Landing Power Plant in January of 2025 left a layer of toxic chemicals in Elkhorn Slough. Their findings were recently published in a report titled, "Coastal wetland deposition of cathode metals from the world’s largest lithium-ion battery fire," published in Nature Scient…
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