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February 26, 2008
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| A recent fire caused by an overheated laptop battery inside a Samsung Electronics computer ― the third such incident this year ― spurred a leading environmental civic group yesterday to urge a recall. “The nation’s electronics makers must recall these defective laptops and urgently make new laptop safety regulations,” said an official of the Green Consumer Network who declined to be named. Complaints about laptop battery fires have been pouring in for the last three years, said Moon Sung-ki of the Korea Consumer Agency. The laptop manufacturers, however, are blaming the users, saying they did not use the machines properly. On Sunday, the battery inside a Samsung Electronics P10 laptop emitted smoke after being used for about three hours on a pillow. It caught fire, burning the laptop user’s bed and floor, according to a Samsung Electronics official who declined to be named. “The user covered the laptop’s vents with his pillow for more than three hours, so his laptop overheated,” the official said. “The user admitted using his laptop improperly.” Samsung is investigating the case to find out what caused the laptop battery to catch fire, but does not plan a recall. Last year, another battery inside a Samsung P10 burst into flames. Asked about the previous incident, the official said, “We couldn’t determine the reason it happened.” At least two other similar incidents have occurred this year. On Jan. 8, an LG Electronics laptop caught fire. After a one-month investigation, LG said the battery pack did not pose a threat but claimed the explosion was triggered by an “indescribable external shock at an extremely high temperature,” not by a defect in the battery. About one month after the announcement, however, another LG laptop battery caught fire on Feb. 21. LG halted sales of its Z1-AE007 model after the incident, but also does not plan to recall the product. “In the case of Dell, it took more than six months to decide whether to recall the laptops or not,” said an LG official who declined to be named. U.S.-based computer manufacturer Dell recalled more than 4.1 million laptop batteries after it found defects in 2006 that the company said could lead to fires. At the time, Dell said it knew of six instances in which the batteries overheated or caught fire. No injuries were reported. By Sung So-young Staff Reporter [so@joongang.co.kr] |
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