Media Release

THIS NOTICE SENT AT THE REQUEST OF ALACHUA COUNTY

FIRE MARSHALL MARK SMITH

12:10 p.m. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firms named below, announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: Lithium-Ion Batteries used in Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba and Dell Notebook Computers

Battery Cell Manufacturer: Sony Energy Devices Corporation, of Japan

Hazard: These lithium-ion batteries can overheat, posing a fire and burn hazard to consumers.

Incidents/Injuries: There have been 19 reports of the batteries overheating, including 17 reports of flames/fire (10 resulting in minor property damage). Two consumers experienced minor burns.

Description: The recalled batteries were included with, and sold separately for use in, the following notebook computer models:

Hewlett-Packard - sold from December 2004 through June 2006

Toshiba - sold from April 2005 to October 2005

Dell - shipped between November 2004 and November 2005

Remedy: Consumers should immediately remove the recalled battery from their notebook computer, and contact their computer manufacturer to determine if their battery is included in the recall and to request a free replacement battery. After removing the recalled battery from their notebook computer, consumers may use the AC adapter to power the computer until a replacement battery arrives. Consumers should only use batteries obtained from their computer manufacturer or an authorized reseller.

For additional information, consumers should contact the manufacturer of their notebook computer:

Hewlett-Packard Co. - http://www.hp.com/support/BatteryReplacement  

Toshiba - http://www.bxinfo.toshiba.com  

Dell - http://www.dellbatteryprogram.com

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