Explosions Cause HP to Recall More Than 50,000 Batteries

By Ian Bell May 21, 2010

Hewlett-Packard Co. is recalling 54,000 lithium-ion batteries used in HP and Compaq computers after receiving reports of injuries from the batteries overheating and rupturing.

The recall was announced Friday by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and expands an earlier recall of 70,000 of the same type of batteries.

The earlier recall came after two reports of the batteries overheating. The commission said that since then, HP has received 38 additional reports of the batteries overheating, causing 11 minor injuries. Those people were burned when they handled computers whose batteries had ruptured, said CPSC spokesman Scott Wolfson.

Batteries can rupture if they’ve been charged too long and don’t have a good way to regulate the excess heat. Wolfson added that the industry is working to change that.

HP says the computers at issue were sold in stores and online from August 2007 through July 2008. The battery packs were also sold separately.

Friday’s recall pales in comparison to the recall in 2006 and 2007 of nearly 10 million of a model of Sony batteries that were used by almost every major PC manufacturer.

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