It can also react with acetonitrile (also from batteries) to produce toxic hydrocyanide gas (US Environmental Protection Agency 1984). As a pure metal form, lithium is dangerous to animals that ingest it, and to plants which accumulate it. Furthermore, if relatively large amounts of pure lithium enter the food chain, it affects the gastrointestinal tract, the kidneys and the central nervous system, and the kidneys of animals and humans. Adverse effects include: diarrhoea, pain, vomiting, and nausea. Lithium toxicity can also affect the nervous system to produce tremors, muscle rigidity, mental confusion, and coma (Salocks and Kaley