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Rosslyn VA (SPX) Mar 19, 2010 Regulatory proposals put forward by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to restrict transportation of lithium batteries and products that contain them are unnecessary, misdirected, and would not achieve the safety goals stated by the agency, according to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) in comments it has submitted to DOT. Instead of creating new rules that would increase confusion in the market and reduce safety, DOT should move quickly to adopt regulations that are largely harmonized with international standards for lithium-battery safe transport that are already in use in the rest of the world DOT should also devote sufficient resources to ensure compliance and enforcement with its regulations. "Many of the agency's proposals, although perhaps well-meaning, would have the opposite effect of what is intended," said Kyle Pitsor, NEMA vice president for government relations. "NEMA and its member companies are committed to safe transportation of their products." NEMA filed formal written comments with DOT's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) on March 12 on behalf its Dry Battery Section, which represents manufacturers of lithium metal batteries, and on behalf of industrial and electrical equipment manufacturers that use batteries in several electroindustry sectors, including industrial automation, utility equipment, and medical equipment. PHMSA had published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on January 11, 2010 in the Federal Register. Moving the U.S. Hazardous Materials Regulations for lithium batteries and products that contain or are packed with lithium batteries further away from transportation requirements agreed at the international level will merely increase confusion, will not increase compliance, and has the potential to result in greater instances of non-compliance and reduced levels of safety. In its written comments in response to the Notice, NEMA argued that PHMSA's proposals to create U.S. requirements beyond and inconsistent with those administered by transportation experts under the auspices of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations would prove redundant and confusing, generate legitimate trade complaints, result in significantly higher costs throughout the chain of commerce and result in no obvious improvement of airline crew or passenger safety. If it moves forward to implement its proposals, PHMSA may be even less able to enforce testing, packaging and other safety requirements for shipments of lithium batteries, NEMA added. NEMA also spoke in opposition to the proposals in a March 5 public meeting. The full text of NEMA's comments, filed on March 12 is available here.
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