The batteries are widely used to power cell phones, laptop computers, medical devices, smoke detectors and other devices.
The letter is part of a campaign by shippers and transportation providers to pre-empt regulations under consideration by the DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration that would eliminate exemptions for treating lithium batteries as full hazardous materials when included in an air shipment, which would force individuals and companies to implement new packaging, labeling, documentation, training and other procedures. The proposal also attempts to limit stowage of the portable power packs aboard planes to cargo compartments accessible to the crew or locations equipped with a Federal Aviation Administration-approved fire suppression system, unless transported in an approved container. Opponents say that provision would sharply raise shipping costs because crew-accessible space is very limited on planes and would result in huge delivery backlogs or the use of slower transport modes such as ocean.
The rule is almost universally opposed by groups across the industry spectrum. They point out that no accidents involving lithium batteries or cells have ever involved properly packaged materials. Instead, the DOT needs to better enforce existing rules against non-compliant shippers and upgrade them to meet new international standards that tighten packaging and labeling requirements on lithium shipments.
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A 'more concerted effort' by DOT to work with international partners on enforcement of existing lithium battery regulations at origin, publicity about actions taken against shippers who violate hazmat laws and development of appropriate outreach materials for shippers is needed, it said, noting that shipments from Asia appear to be of particular concern.
DOT's renewed emphasis on international enforcement should precede enactment of 'new and overbroad mandates that would penalize legitimate businesses who ship items in full compliance of the regulations as a standard business practice,' the letter stated.
Last October, FedEx Express reported that a shipment of lithium ion battery packs for electric bicycles bound for England caught fire at its Hong Kong facility before loading, according to an FAA list of battery incidents. In March, two shipments — one that arrived at FedEx's Guangzhou, China-facility from India and another from Shanghai, China, that arrived at the UPS facility in Cerritos, Calif. — were observed smoking. In each case, the shippers did not follow International Civil Aviation Organization procedures for handling hazardous materials, such as declaring the goods as fully regulated dangerous goods, using proper packaging and following basic safety precautions, the coalition said.
It also asked the government to identify counterfeit battery manufacturers to protect legitimate producers and reduce the risk poorly made batteries pose in transportation. The DOT should coordinate enforcement and outreach efforts with regulators in countries where shipments of counterfeit batteries originate and publicize actions taken against non-compliant shippers, the letter said.
'But we believe, as we have for a long time, that without active, visible enforcement efforts on the part of U.S. DOT and its counterparts in other countries, shippers who violate the essential safety regulations will not understand the consequences of such illegal actions,' the letter said.
Signatories to the letter include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Express Association of America, the Consumer Electronics Association, the Retail Leaders Industry Association and the National Retail Federation. ' Eric Kulisch
