Button cell battery leak - Dangerous!!!???

[retrowrist]

Hello,

I am curious if any of the watch experts here know how toxic button cell batteries from China are? The battery looked new, but I saw what looked to be clear fluid in the battery well when I unscrewed the battery hatch when inspecting a new Seiko Pan Am watch.

- Do I need to throw the module away???

- Will a cleaning of the battery hatch sufficient?

- Do I need to detox the entire work area I have allocated for my electronics area?

Please give me some advice, as my chemistry books are of not much help to me right at this time getting an answer to my delima.

Thank you all very much,

- Patrick

[767Geoff]

I get to Asia a lot, 2 to 3 times a month and have access to real and fake batteries. One thing I NEVER do and that is buy Chinese batteries in china. Having said that, I know most batteries are manufactured in china. My caveat is buy brand names from known retail outlets, not generic and not cheapos at the dollar.

I would do the following with battery leakage suspect:

Remove the module
Remove the LCD assembly (panel, zebra strips)
Clean with 99% alcohol and a fine brush the entire module.*
With a damp cloth (dampened with water) gently clean the LCD panel and zebra strip contact points.
Clean the screws and case.
Reassemble

* I take a natural bristle brush and clip the bristles short so they are about 1cm long to ad stiffness. Normal keep moisture away from the trimming capacitor but since you are using 99% alcohol (local pharmacy) not to worry. The object is to remove all the battery leakage.

I take it there is no blue precipitate, just clear oily liquid.

Cheers, Geoff

[retrowrist]

Thank you for the overview breakdown of the hazmat process Geoff. But I only saw a Little leakage only a little in the battery compartment alone, and it was clear fluid. When I took the module out I saw no evidence at all in the other parts of the module, in fact I swapped another LCD panel out from another breaker M158 module, and it fired right up. What I am worried about is the POISON alone! Is the module deadly poison because of the leakage, or is it not.

Anyway, that is what I am worried about.

- Patrick

[767Geoff]

Not!

Just don' t eat it

Wash the residue from the area with the alcohol as long as you know it is contained to that area. As far as neutralizing the residue and alcohol , once removed, I would add it to some cat litter clay and toss it.

Cheers, Geoff

[azimuth_pl]

if the leakage is small then don't risk a full strip of the module, just use alcohol as Geoff suggests.
if you will find an old module with green battery residues then strip it and dip in vinegar which will dissolve the green stuff and other non-visible residues.
then clean in alcohol and dry.
the problem with cheap batteries is that they are not leak proof and have the cheapest chemical compounds with technology dating back to the 70's.
nowadays the tightness of quality batteries is very good and any leakage occurs in the form of powder if at all.

[retrowrist]

azimuth_pl,

So what is that "green stuff" when a battery has leaked. Is the green stuff deadly poison? Have you had an encounter with the green stuff? I guess I would have to have a school's chemistry lab available to properly analyze the chemical compounds of the material that is leaking, but I have been told to stay away from leaking batteries frantically by a chemist because they contain Mercury, and that element is unforgiving!

Anyway,

Thank you all for the assistance,

- Patrick

[azimuth_pl]

the green stuff is a result of various chemical reactions between the battery acids and the metal battery case and/or elements on the watch module.
circuit traces are mainly made from copper and gold plated so as you might have seen on church roofs or old statues these oxidize to a green color.
these oxides are hazardous if you would take a bath in that stuff but such small amounts will not harm you, you inhale more mercury toxins on the streets.
just dispose of the batteries as required by leaving them in your nearby store in a battery recycle bin.