May 1 - US Safety Council Announces Recall of Hazardous HP Computer Batteries

For the second time in six months, the US Consumer Safety Council has announced a recall of  Hewlet Packard computer batteries. An internal failure can cause the battery to overheat and melt or char the plastic case, posing a burn and fire hazard. HP has received 20 reports of batteries overheating, including two in the United States. One minor burn injury has been reported. Eleven cases of minor property damage were reported, including one in the United States.

The recalled lithium ion rechargeable batteries are used with various HP and Compaq notebook computers. The recalled batteries are a subset of those manufactured in early January 2005, and will have a bar code label starting with L3. The latest recall effects approximately 15,000 Lithium Ion Batteries used to power laptop computers.

HP announced a similar recall of batteries last fall. That recall effected more than 120,00 Lithium Ion Batteries.

HP customers affected by this recall will be eligible to receive a replacement battery for each verified, affected, recalled battery, at no cost. For more information, go to: http://bpr.hpordercenter.com/ebpr/landingpage.aspx