{"id":2705,"date":"2025-11-06T09:56:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T17:56:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/?p=2705"},"modified":"2025-11-06T10:28:01","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T18:28:01","slug":"media-coverage-of-battery-fire-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/2025\/11\/06\/media-coverage-of-battery-fire-research\/","title":{"rendered":"Media Coverage of Battery Fire Research"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\"\"\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div>
\n
\n\t

Following the Moss Landing battery facility fire, Professor Ivano Aiello<\/strong> conducted groundbreaking research uncovering significantly elevated levels of heavy metals (such as nickel, manganese, and cobalt) in the nearby Elkhorn Slough Reserve. His findings sparked widespread attention from national and regional media, highlighting both the environmental impact of the fire and the importance of continued monitoring and research. Below are selected stories from major outlets that covered this work.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>

\n
\n\t
\n
\n
\n
USA Today<\/div>\n
SJSU Scientist links surge in heavy metals in soil to California lithium battery plant fire<\/a><\/div>\n

Scientists at San Jose State University say that a large fire that burned at a battery plant in Monterrey County, California earlier this month has left heightened levels of heavy metals in a nearby nature reserve.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
CBS News Bay Area (lead story in 6 pm newscast)<\/div>\n
Elevated levels of heavy metals found in Elkhorn Slough following Northern California lithium battery facility fire according to SJSU scientist<\/a><\/div>\n
\n

Elevated concentrations of heavy metals have been detected at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve by scientists from San Jose State University's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories following a recent fire at Vistra Moss Landing Power Plant and Energy Storage Facility.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
San Francisco Chronicle<\/div>\n
SJSU Scientists find toxic metals in California wetland after Moss Landing battery plant fire<\/a><\/div>\n

\u201cThree elements, in particular, were very, very high,\u201d said Ivano Aiello, professor and chair of San Jose State University\u2019s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, who has been studying Elkhorn Slough Reserve for more than a decade. The concentrations of manganese, cobalt and nickel were hundreds to a thousand times higher than previous measurements.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Los Angeles Times (limited free access)<\/div>\n
'Extremely disturbing': High levels of heavy metals at Monterey estuary after lithium battery site fire<\/a><\/div>\n
\n

Scientists at San Jos\u00e9 State University recorded a dramatic increase in nickel, manganese and cobalt \u2014 materials used in lithium ion batteries \u2014 in soil samples at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve after the recent fire at the nearby Moss Landing Power Plant<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
KRON-TV<\/div>\n
SJSU Scientist Discovers Heavy metal particles by Moss Landing power plant fire<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Pajaronian<\/div>\n
Study by SJSU scientist shows \u2018heavy concentrations\u2019 of heavy metals in soil after Moss Landing Fire<\/a><\/div>\n

One day after a group of Santa Cruz County residents collected soil samples from the areas impacted by the Jan. 16 battery storage facility fire at the Moss Landing Power Plant to test for heavy metals, a San Jose State University Professor released the results of a study confirming their suspicions. The study of a two-mile radius around the plant by Professor
\nIvano Aiello found an \u201cunusually high concentrations of heavy-metal nanoparticles in marsh soils at Elkhorn Slough Reserve \u201cafter the fire,\u201d with increases of a hundredfold to a thousandfold from previous testing.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
Santa Cruz Sentinel (Behind a paywall)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Santa Cruz County supervisors join call for independent investigation into Moss Landing battery fire<\/a>
\n<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
KION-TV<\/div>\n
High levels of cobalt, Vistra fire relief discussed during news briefing<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Mercury News<\/div>\n
Moss Landing battery fire: Officials give update on preliminary findings of heavy metals near site<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
KSBW-TV<\/div>\n
Lawsuit filed against Vistra and PG&E over Moss Landing battery facility fire<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
KION-TV<\/div>\n
Vistra, PG&E, other agencies named in civil lawsuit filed after battery plant fire<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Santa Cruz Sentinel<\/div>\n
Nature will aid Elkhorn Slough\u2019s recovery from battery fire aftermath<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
NBC Bay Area<\/div>\n
Moss Landing battery fire hit plant with older, vulnerable technology, expert says<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The New York Times story is posted. Ivano is not quoted, but his research is mentioned.<\/div>\n
https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/02\/10\/us\/california-battery-plant-fire.html?partner=calculated<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
KQED<\/div>\n
Professor and chair of SJSU's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories discusses Monterey County Battery Fire Linked to Surge of Heavy Metals in Nature Reserve\u2019s Soil<\/a><\/div>\n

Dr. Ivano Aiello, the chair of San Jos\u00e9 State\u2019s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, said after the fire, his lab tested the soil in a 2-mile radius of the plant, which is near the Elkhorn Slough estuary. After taking multiple measurements from about 100 locations, his lab observed a hundreds-fold rise in the concentration of the three toxic heavy metals along the top layer of the soil.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The Mercury News<\/div>\n
Professor and chair of SJSU's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories comments on Moss Landing battery fire: Unusually high concentrations of toxic metals found in wetlands near plant<\/a>
\n\u201cThose three metals are toxic,\u201d said Ivano Aiello, a marine geology professor at Moss Landing Marine Labs, who led the soils testing. \u201cThey are hazardous to aquatic life. We want to understand how they will move and interact with the environment, whether they will make it through the food web and at what level \u2014 from microbes to sea otters.\u201d<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
KSBW-TV<\/div>\n
Professor and chair of SJSU's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories comments Scientists find heavy metal spike in Moss Landing soil post-battery facility fire<\/a><\/div>\n
Research scientists at San Jos\u00e9 State University's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories said they have detected \"unusually high concentrations of heavy-metal nanoparticles in marsh soils at Elkhorn Slough Reserve\" after the Moss Landing battery facility fire on Jan. 16.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Monterey Herald<\/div>\n
Research scientist at SJSU's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories comments on Moss Landing fire fallout: Concentrations of heavy-metal nanoparticles found nearby<\/a><\/div>\n

Research scientists at San Jose State University\u2019s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories detected \u201cunusually high\u201d concentrations of heavy-metals microscopic particles in marsh soils, including nickel, cobalt and manganese. Levels were roughly 100 to 1,000 times higher than normal.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
SF Gate\/Bay City News<\/div>\n
\n

Research scientist at SJSU's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories discovers Heavy metals found in California slough after battery storage plant fire<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
Elevated concentrations of heavy metals have been detected at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve by scientists from San Jose State University's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories following a recent fire at Vistra Moss Landing Power Plant and Energy Storage Facility, one of the world's largest lithium-ion battery storage facilities.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
KION-TV<\/div>\n
High amounts of heavy metals detected at Elkhorn Slough Reserveby research scientist at SJSU's Moss Landing Marine Laboratories<\/a><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Lookout Santa Cruz<\/div>\n
Researchers at SJSU's Moss Landing Marine Labs find heavy metals in Elkhorn Slough\u00a0following a fire in Moss Landing<\/a><\/div>\n

Researchers from San Jose State University\u2019s Moss Landing Marine Laboratories found high levels of nickel, manganese and cobalt in soil at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve following the fire that sparked Jan. 16 at a battery storage facility in Moss Landing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Following the Moss Landing battery facility fire, Professor Ivano Aiello conducted groundbreaking research uncovering significantly elevated levels of heavy metals (such as nickel, manganese, and cobalt) in the nearby Elkhorn Slough Reserve. His findings sparked widespread attention from national and regional media, highlighting both the environmental impact of the fire and the importance of continued […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":414,"featured_media":2707,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-uncategorized"],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Geological Oceanography Lab","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/414"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2705"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2715,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2705\/revisions\/2715"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/geooce\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}