Strange case of the exploding AAA cell

We've got used to stories of batteries in laptops and handhelds exploding or otherwise malfunctioning dangerously. Nokia is the latest company to be hit, as we reported yesterday.

But how about the humble general-purpose AA and AAA cells selling in their tens of millions? Judging from my experience, when a remote control exploded in my lap on a very hot evening recently, it seems that you can't fully trust them either.

It was not a loud explosion, just a sharp crack that blew the lid off of the battery compartment. The top of one the three triple-As inside was gaping open, spilling noxious liquid all over the remote control. The device was not damaged but the battery might easily have been installed in a child's toy, with results that could have been rather less trivial.

The batteries were branded Duracell Plus, so naturally I contacted Duracell, a division of Proctor and Gamble, who seemed less than anxious to reply to my questions. After two days I got a message referring me to a customer service number, on which I spoke to a man who politely questioned me about where I had got the battery and offered me a fiver.

So I got back to Duracell: what about my questions? How often does this happen? Is it dangerous? Are there noxious gases?

More than a week after first contacting them, after repeated prompting, I finally got some answers.

Duracell ruled out the weather as a factor. "Batteries do not explode due to heat (unless extreme or direct heat such as fire)," said a spokeswoman in an email. "This is unlikely to be [due to] the British weather." So this is one peril we can't blame on global warming.

She asked if I had followed the guidelines on the back of pack. Naturally I had put the batteries in the right way round (it had been working OK for weeks), and I had not mixed it with other types of battery. Nor did I "disassemble, recharge or dispose of it in fire."

The spokeswoman also said a lot of counterfeit Duracell batteries are being sold in this country, particularly in Scotland. "The quality of these counterfeit cells is often to blame for what appears to be a faulty Duracell battery," she said.

And she stressed: "Duracell sends millions of batteries into the homes of consumers every year, and very rarely does the brand ever have issues with the quality of the products."

The dodgy battery may well be counterfeit but if dangerous copies are being touted as Duracells, you'd think the company would be keener to warn us of the fact. I have sent the battery to Duracell for testing and will report its reply.

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