Fire & Toxic Water at East Hampton Battery Energy Storage System (BESS)

East Hampton Battery Storage Fire & PFAS Groundwater Contamination

A consequential health hazard was created when the Town of East Hampton’s primary water supply was poisoned by run-off water used to extinguish the fire at the East Hampton battery storage facility on May 31, 2023.  Toxins that can lead to cancer and other illnesses were released into our sole source of freshwater.  No public warning has been issued, nor has a cleanup effort been announced.  The Montauk facility should be taken offline while an open and transparent investigation into the fire at the East Hampton facility is performed.  See further details here (click to download document).  Tables and exhibits follow (see below).

See NEW YORK STATE INTER-AGENCY FIRE SAFETY WORKING GROUP AIR, SOIL, AND WATER DATA FINDINGS (December 2023) (click here to download document), provided by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) in response to N.Y. Freedom of Information Law request of Dec 27, 2023 (click here to download document).  Also, see  email "New York is reeling from its hot battery summer," Canary News, Julian Spector (dated August 21, 2023) (click here to download document). 

Tables and Exhibits

· Table A- Toxicity of Lithium-ion Batteries (excerpt) (2020) (click here)

· Table A- Toxicity of Lithium-ion Batteries (full document) (2020) (click here)

· Exhibit 1, Toxicology, Lithium-ion Battery Fire, MA (2023) (click here)

· Exhibit 2, PFAS Lithium-ion Fire Water (2023) (click here)

· Exhibit 3, PFAS, Lithium-ion Fire Water, Support Info (click here)

· Exhibit 4, Newsday, ‘Largest Battery Online in Hamptons’ by M. Harrington (2018) (click here)

· Exhibit 5, LG Chem Lithium-ion Battery (JH3), Safety Data Sheet (click here)

· Exhibit 6, Safe Handling of Fluoropolymer Resins (v5) (2018) (click here)

· Exhibit 7, Lithium-ion Battery Recycling- PFAS (2023) (click here)

· Exhibit 8, REACH, PFAS Derogation RECHARGE (2023) (click here)

· Exhibit 9, Newsday, ‘No harmful toxin after battery fires’ by M. Harrington (2023) (click here)

· Exhibit 10, NY Governor Hochul Announces Findings (2023) (click here)

· Exhibit 11, NYSERDA, Statewide BESS Projects (2024) (click here)

· Exhibit 12, NY Governor Hochul Convenes Fire Safety Group (2023) (click here)

See East Hampton Energy Storage Center LLC (BESS, 5 MW/40 MWh), Permit (click here), provided in response to N.Y. Freedom of Information Law request of Dec 27, 2023, appealed Jan 29, 2024 (click here).