Proposed Lithium Battery Air Transportation Regulations

On January 11th, 2010, the US DOT issued proposed new regulations (NPRM) on the transport of lithium metal and lithium ion batteries.  The new regulations will also extend to equipment containing lithium batteries when shipped by air. The final rule could take effect as quickly as September 24th of this year.
The NPRM to enforce stringent guidelines on the air shipment of lithium batteries arises from safety concerns on behalf of the USDOT and FAA. As stated in the Federal register/vol. 75, No. 6, over the past 19 years, the agencies have responded to 44 HAZMAT incidents involving lithium batteries including a February 2006 incident at the Philadelphia International Airport in which a fire—suspected to have been caused by lithium batteries—destroyed an aircraft and most of its cargo.

According to the federal register, the DOT estimates 3.3 billion lithium cells and batteries were transported worldwide in 2008 by all modes of transportation. Although the total number of incidents is small in comparison, the DOT recognizes the increased potential for accidents as the number of items containing lithium batteries continues to proliferate.

Because the process of shipping lithium batteries as consumer commodities poses such risks - and yet remains largely unregulated through various exceptions – regulatory compliance remains difficult to enforce. We will review how the NPRM will end the current system of exceptions by mandating specific compliance requirements including HAZCOM, packaging, and training specifications in order mitigate risks associated with lithium batteries during transport.