[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 65 (Thursday, April 3, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18321-18322]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-6923]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
[PHMSA-2008-0075 (Notice No. 08-2)]
Hazardous Materials: Transport of Lithium Batteries; Notice of
Public Meeting
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.
ACTION: Notice of public meeting.
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SUMMARY: This notice is to advise interested persons that PHMSA will
conduct a public meeting to discuss the safe transportation of lithium
batteries.
DATES: The public meeting will be Friday, April 11, 2008, starting at 9
a.m.
ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the U.S. DOT headquarters, Rooms
8-9-10--DOT Conference Center, 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE., Washington,
DC 20590. The main visitor's entrance is located in the West Building,
on New Jersey Avenue and M Street. For information on the facilities or
to request special accommodations, please contact Kevin Leary at the
telephone number listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Leary, Office of Hazardous
Materials Standards, telephone, 202-366-8553, Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation,
East Building, PHH-10, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE., Washington, DC
20590-0001.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 22, 2007, the Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) hosted a meeting of
public and private sector stakeholders who share our interest in the
safe transportation of batteries and battery-powered devices. The
meeting included representatives of the National Transportation Safety
Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the National
Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), battery and electronics
manufacturers, the Air Transport Association (ATA), the Air Line Pilots
Association (ALPA), and emergency responders. On the basis of the
meeting we initiated a comprehensive strategy aimed at reducing the
transportation risks posed by batteries of all types. PHMSA outlined
the strategy in an action plan detailing a range of public and private
sector measures designed to enhance safety standards, improve data
collection and awareness, and otherwise reduce the risks of
transporting batteries and battery-powered devices, with a special
focus on aviation safety. PHMSA and the parties to the action plan have
met repeatedly over the course of the last year and have made
significant progress in meeting the action plan targets.
PHMSA believes that a follow-on public meeting would be useful at
this time to review progress under the 2007 action plan and discuss
necessary next steps. Although substantial effort and progress have
been made since the February 2007 meeting, we believe additional steps
should be taken to prevent a significant incident. While the safety
record associated with the transportation of lithium batteries is very
good, we continue to observe incidents in all modes of transport and
are especially concerned about the risk of battery-related fires aboard
aircraft. PHMSA is aware of more than 90 reports of transport incidents
involving batteries and battery-powered devices; several of these have
involved fires in an aircraft cabin. In cooperation with NTSB and FAA
we are investigating a number of these incidents to determine their
root cause and to identify effective measures to reduce risk. Based on
the observed incidents and our investigations, we have identified
several factors we believe are the primary cause of most of the battery
incidents. These factors include: internal short circuits, external
short circuits, improper charging or discharging, and non-compliance
with current safety standards.
On December 17, 2007 and January 7, 2008, the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued a total of eight safety
recommendations following its investigation of a February 7, 2006
hazardous materials incident at the Philadelphia International Airport.
In that incident, United Parcel Service Company flight 1307 landed at
the airport after a cargo smoke indication in the cockpit. The captain,
first officer, and a flight engineer evacuated the airplane after
landing, sustaining minor injuries. The airplane and most of the cargo
were destroyed by a fire. NTSB determined that the probable cause of
this accident was an in-flight cargo fire from an unknown source. The
NTSB issued the following safety recommendations:
Require aircraft operators to implement measures to reduce
the risk of primary lithium batteries becoming involved in fires on
cargo-only aircraft, such as transporting such batteries in fire
resistant containers and/or in restricted quantities at any single
location on the aircraft;
Until fire suppression systems are required on cargo-only
aircraft, as asked for in Safety Recommendation A-07-99, require that
cargo shipments of secondary lithium batteries, including those
contained in or packed with equipment, be transported in crew-
accessible locations where portable fire suppression systems can be
used;
Require aircraft operators that transport hazardous
materials to immediately provide consolidated and specific information
about hazardous
[[Page 18322]]
materials on board an aircraft, including proper shipping name, hazard
class, quantity, number of packages, and location, to on-scene
emergency responders upon notification of an accident or incident;
Require commercial cargo and passenger operators to report
to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration all
incidents involving primary and secondary lithium batteries, including
those contained in or packed with equipment, that occur either on board
or during loading or unloading operations and retain the failed items
for evaluation purposes;
Analyze the causes of all thermal failures and fires
involving secondary and primary lithium batteries and, based on this
analysis, take appropriate action to mitigate any risks determined to
be posed by transporting secondary and primary lithium batteries,
including those contained in or packed with equipment, on board cargo
and passenger aircraft as cargo; checked baggage; or carry-on items;
Eliminate regulatory exemptions for the packaging,
marking, and labeling of cargo shipments of small secondary lithium
batteries (no more than 8 grams equivalent lithium content) until the
analysis of the failures and the implementation of risk-based
requirements asked for in Safety Recommendation A-07-108 are completed;
In collaboration with air carriers, manufacturers of
lithium batteries and electronic devices, air travel associations, and
other appropriate government and private organizations, establish a
process to ensure wider, highly visible, and continuous dissemination
of guidance and information to the air-traveling public, including
flight crews, about the safe carriage of secondary (rechargeable)
lithium batteries or electronic devices containing these batteries on
board passenger aircraft; and
In collaboration with air carriers, manufacturers of
lithium batteries and electronic devices, air travel associations, and
other appropriate government and private organizations, establish a
process to periodically measure the effectiveness of your efforts to
educate the air-traveling public, including flight crews, about the
safe carriage of secondary (rechargeable) lithium batteries or
electronic devices containing these batteries on board passenger
aircraft.
During the April 11th meeting we plan to distribute and solicit
feedback on a draft action plan identifying additional steps that will
help to reduce the risk associated with the transport of lithium
batteries, particularly in the air mode.
Topics to be covered during the public meeting include:
(1) Recent transportation incidents;
(2) Probable causes of battery incidents;
(3) NTSB recommendations;
(4) PHMSA/FAA activities; and
(5) Action plan with next steps/additional actions.
In addition, we plan to discuss the effectiveness of stakeholder
partnerships in reducing the safety risks posed by the transportation
of lithium batteries, ways to facilitate and foster additional
stakeholder partnerships, and strategies for expanding the ongoing DOT
public awareness campaign.
The public is invited to attend without prior notification. Due to
the heightened security measures, participants are encouraged to arrive
early to allow time for security checks necessary to obtain access to
the building.
Issued in Washington, DC on March 28, 2008.
Theodore L. Willke,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.
[FR Doc. E8-6923 Filed 4-2-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P