This book is about how to avoid the accidents and injuries that may occur when batteries are abused or mishandled. It is the first book to deal specifically with this subject in a reasonably comprehensive manner accessible to readers ranging from regular consumers to technical specialists. Batteries and battery processes are described in sufficient detail to enable readers to understand why and how batteries cause accidents and what can be done to prevent them. Each year in the United States alone, thousands of individuals are injured by battery accidents, some of which are severely disabling. The tragedy is that such accidents need not occur. The book is intended to satisfy the needs of a varied group of readers: battery users in general, battery engineers, and designers of battery-operated equipment and consumer electronics. Since the book is a reference source of information on batteries and battery chemicals, we believe it may also be useful to those studying the environment as well as to medical personnel called upon to treat battery injuries. There are no prerequisites for an under­ standing of the text other than an interest in batteries and their safe usage.