Praneeta Prakash 
The Land Transport Authority is calling for stricter rules to manage and dispose of hybrid and electric vehicle batteries.
LTA says Fiji does not have laws regulating the disposal of high-voltage batteries used in electric and hybrid vehicles.
They are warning that this could become a public health and environmental risk if not handled properly.
LTA Manager Standards and Engineering, Razik Khan, says many people are unaware of the dangers posed by high-voltage batteries used in electric and hybrid vehicles.
“I think that’s the biggest risk itself, because these are very high-voltage batteries, and we see that they are not managed properly in garages, in workshops, even at people’s homes. They are just lying around there, weathering the conditions of nature, and then, you know, probably a disaster waiting to happen.”
Committee member Ketan Lal questioned how Fiji should regulate the disposal of the batteries,
Khan suggested introducing a permit system.
“As a way to manage that would probably be to have more regulations around people who are allowed to carry out this exercise, maybe having special permits only they can work on with the required qualification and facility to be able to work on hybrid and electric vehicle batteries, something in relation to that.”
The LTA says it does not have the legal powers to regulate battery disposal and believes the Ministry of Environment could be the appropriate agency to oversee the process.
