Gaza’s old battery pileups pose risk to health, environment

By FARES AKRAM
Associated Press

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — Virtually every household in the Gaza Strip relies on batteries to keep their home running — a result of years of chronic power outages. Families use batteries to fuel everything from lights to internet routers to solar panels. This has mitigated one crisis but the batteries are causing a new one. Huge mounds of old and used batteries are piling up at makeshift outdoor landfills. Officials say that in a territory lacking the ability to safely dispose of them, these batteries could bring harm to public health and to Gaza’s fragile environment.