Can Cell Phones Explode? Yes!

Recently, Engadget.com told the story of how a South Korea quarry worker was found mysteriously dead, bleeding from the nose where he lay next to his electronic shovel. A coroner examined him, and reported that his spine and ribcage were fractured, and that his heart and lungs had been damaged. Evidence pointed to an explosion. The logical center of the explosion, in turn, pointed to the cell phone he carried in his pocket, which had been reduced to a useless lump of melted plastic. The phone company, LG Electronics, says there is no way that a cell phone battery can explode in this way.

That would be comforting to a world filled with people who already have enough to worry about, except it's happened before.

As told by CNet News, in Utah in 2005 an emergency dispatcher sat down to work, only to smell smoke. Before she could pinpoint the source, her cell phone, a Motorola V300, had burned through her jacket to fall on the floor, where it - exploded. Parts were scattered as far as ten feet away, and smoke filled the 911 dispatch room before the burning phone could be dumped outside.

In China in July 2007, Breitbart.com tells of a welder who was killed when his phone exploded, driving rib splinters into his heart. Investigators think it was secondary to his high-temperature working conditions, which did not allow the phone to properly cool.

According to CBS News and Fox News, in the United States alone over 80 instances of cell phone explosions had been reported by the end of 2005. Worldwide, the number is significantly higher.

Protect Yourself From Exploding Cell Phones

Okay, so your chance of being killed by a rogue cell phone aren't as high as, say, being gored by a mad bull or falling into a volcano. You can still keep yourself safe from these electronic menaces without wearing a tinfoil hat or living in the 19^th century.

Part of the problem may be in nonstandard replacement batteries. The industry has worked hard to standardize all its battery parts in recent years, especially after similar lithium-ion batteries in laptop computers showed overheading problems, but there are still black market batteries out there, and even with standardization some lithium-ion batteries are getting awfully hot.

* Don't buy ridiculously cheap replacement batteries or market seconds from sources you don't know and trust. Black market batteries and old damaged batteries are the most likely source of this problem, and just ponying up the extra twenty bucks or so to buy them straight from the phone store or computer store will keep you safe.

* If your phone gets really hot on use, take it back in to the phone store to have it checked. Your phone should never be so hot it's uncomfortable to hold.

* Check periodically to see if your phone is on a recall list. Several brands have been recalled, but for some reason consumers aren't hearing about it.

* Carry your phone in your purse or on a belt clip, not in your pocket. And turn it off at night, when you aren't going to be using it.

* If your phone (or computer) has vents to release excess heat, keep them uncovered and exposed to air so the device can cool naturally. And if you're somewhere really hot, just turn the phone off.