Overview
- Scientists from Moss Landing Marine Laboratories reported nickel, cobalt and manganese deposition across Elkhorn Slough after the Jan. 16 battery blaze, publishing their findings in Scientific Reports.
- Field surveys and lab analyses tied the metals to the fire, with maximum nickel levels spiking 15-fold to 3,702 ppm two weeks after the event compared with 2023 baselines.
- The contamination formed a thin, patchy surface layer that was detected within roughly two miles downwind, and researchers say such fallout can travel significant distances before settling.
- Surface concentrations fell rapidly after rain and tidal flushing, with a later reading showing nickel declining to 339 ppm, though researchers continue tracking where the metals moved.
- The EPA is removing burned batteries to a Nevada recycler as EPA and CPUC investigations continue, DTSC reported no widespread contamination above screening levels, and health and ecological impacts remain under study alongside resident lawsuits.