News Backgrounder
Momentum builds for new rules on battery shipments
A tougher global code for the safe transport of lithium batteries received a boost recently when the U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration came out in support of banning the batteries travelling as freight on passenger aircraft.
November 1st 2015
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) is expected to announce its support for a global ban on the shipment of large consignments of rechargeable lithium batteries on passenger aircraft. Read More »
At press time, an ICAO safety meeting in Montreal will consider a global advisory on the safe transport of lithium batteries following the news that the U.S. is in favour of a ban.
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| A lithium battery fire is said to have contributed to the crash of an Asiana Airlines B747 and the deaths of the cockpit crew |
U.S. backing for such a ban was certain to tip the scales in favour of a pro-ban ICAO ruling, although it will be up to individual member countries to adopt the standard.
“We believe the risk is immediate and urgent,” Angela Stubblefield, a U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) hazardous materials safety officer told a public meeting in Washington, where research showed Lithium batteries can cause explosions and fires capable of destroying an aircraft.
FAA tests have revealed that even a small number of overheating batteries emit gases that can erupt and cause fires which can’t be extinguished by current fire suppression systems on aircraft, she said.
Another FAA hazardous materials official, Janet McLaughlin, told the Washington meeting the U.S. position at the ICAO meeting - the first time it has taken this view in a formal setting - would be that the ban should include all cargo shipments of lithium batteries on passenger planes and not just bulk battery shipments.
In the FAA’s view, the ban would not apply to cargo airlines or to other kinds of batteries, including lithium-ion batteries in individual cell phones. FAA officials have said if the battery was inside a device the risk of short circuiting it and affecting other batteries is lessened.
The FAA echoed the announcement made in August by the Rechargeable Battery Association that it supported the proposed new rules being gradually implemented on transporting lithium batteries.
The association’s executive, George Kerchner, said the new rules will have a substantial impact on battery makers and shippers worldwide, but his members wanted to find the best way to remove the risks of battery fires in planes and wanted to discuss the issue with the FAA.
Many airlines and most Asia-Pacific carriers, including Cathay Pacific Airways, Philippine Airlines, Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia, have banned such shipments. While an ICAO recommended ban would apply only to passenger aircraft, some all-cargo carriers, such as Cargolux, have stopped accepting large shipments of the battery type.
The risk to safe air travel on airlines that carry lithium batteries as cargo is a particular issue on flights from China, the world’s largest producer of lithium batteries. Some Chinese companies have been criticized for dispatching shipments that are not compliant with regulations.
In Beijing earlier this year, the director general and CEO of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Tony Tyler, chastised China about the issue. “Disappointingly, we are seeing some willful non-compliance in the area of lithium batteries, particularly here in China,” he said.
“For example, there is a supplier on Alibaba claiming they will relabel 300 Watt hour batteries as 100 Watt hour and even ship them via the standard postal service.”
There have been several incidents suspected to have been caused by battery cargo fires. It was even suggested the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, which was carrying a large consignment of batteries, may have resulted from such a fire, but there is no proof of this theory.
Bob Richards, who worked as deputy associate administrator of Hazardous Materials Transportation Safety Program at the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) from 2006 to 2010, and is now vice president of regulatory affairs at Labelmaster, said 95% of safety incidents that involved lithium batteries were caused by non-compliant shipments.
Labelmaster specializes in helping companies conform to regulations for the shipping of dangerous goods. The danger arises when lithium batteries short-circuit, a failure that occurs when the batteries don’t meet safe production standards or are damaged, which causes the release of highly volatile gases.
“There are numerous Chinese manufacturers that will ship lithium batteries at really low cost. A number of these companies fail to properly test, package or manufacture the batteries according to current regulations,” Richards said.
The logistics on the Chinese side are especially complicated. Most of the batteries manufactured in China will depart for overseas via Hong Kong, but only after a string of complex logistics, which can include ground transport, a freight forwarder, and an export agent in Hong Kong. Package handling and consolidators are thrown into the mix.
The rechargeable battery shipment issue has been escalating for several years, particularly as more of the batteries are required to power laptops, tablets, mobile phones, power tools, medical devices, and even electric cars.
In July, Boeing cautioned its airline customers that shipping lithium batteries in bulk in the bellies of passenger aircraft posed unacceptable fire risks. The aircraft were not designed to withstand extreme temperatures and gases that lithium battery blazes can cause, Boeing said.
The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations (FALPA) also has proposed ICAO adopt a ban until better packaging or other measures can be developed to reduce the risk of lithium battery fires.
Aircraft manufacturers, Airbus and Bombardier, have called the battery shipments an “unacceptable risk”. However, officials from the rechargeable battery and cargo airline industries have spoken out against a ban until their recent about turn. They had argued it would be a logistical nightmare for the industry to meet the demands of ICAO if it unilaterally and radically altered the rules for transporting lithium-ion batteries. Kerchner has said on record that he was looking forward to the October ICAO meeting.
The air shippers want ICAO to quickly develop a standard for shipping rechargeable batteries that can be strictly applied. ICAO is committed to developing advisory regulations for stricter fire-retardant packaging to contain batteries for safe transport.
| Lithium battery incidents * Three pilots on a United Parcel Service DC-8 barely escaped on February 7, 2006, after a fire broke out as they approached Philadelphia. A U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation found the jet contained “numerous” lithium batteries in computers and other devices. The investigation focused on batteries, but was unable to determine the cause of the fire. * Another UPS B747-400 flight caught fire 22 minutes after it took off from Dubai on September 3, 2010. It was carrying more than 81,000 lithium batteries. It crashed at a military base as the pilots tried to make an emergency landing. Both pilots died. * Even a single bad battery can ignite a blaze. In December 2010, a fire started on an Air France flight after a passenger’s cellphone fell into the seat. When the chair moved, it crushed the battery and caused a fire. * In June last year, lithium batteries started a fire inside the cargo hold of a Fiji Airways B737-800 at Melbourne airport. Moments before passengers boarded the flight, ground handlers noticed smoke coming from a case in the rear cargo hold. The fire was doused and the aircraft was unscathed. * In March this year, a KLM flight attendant extinguished a fire “caused by a lithium-ion battery in a passenger’s hand luggage” on a B777 flight from Amsterdam to Bangkok. The small fire was detected as the plane taxied to its gate at Bangkok. No one was injured and all passengers and crew disembarked safely. * The report of the South Korean investigation into the crash of an Asiana Airlines B747 over the China Sea said the cockpit crew reported a fire onboard and that lithium batteries as well as other cargo, contributed to the fire and the death of the two pilots. No wreckage was recovered. |
