house panel declines to restrict lithium batteries on planes - 18650 rechargeable lithium ion battery
WASHINGTON —
On Thursday, a House panel rejected a proposal that, despite the threat of a catastrophic fire, the minister of transport should be allowed to regulate lithium batteries on the aircraft to wait for international regulation.
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure voting 25-
Oppose adding amendments to the Federal Aviation Administration's legislation.
The current policy, approved by Congress in 2012 and extended in the latest bill, prevents the FAA from adopting stricter standards than the International Civil Aviation Organization, which is one of the United Nations policy-making
The goal is for all countries to agree on international rules for the carriage of goods.
The International Civil Aviation Organization may take action within a few months, but it is uncertain whether the international agency will adopt strict battery regulations.
During this period, the representative.
Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.
Proposed lifting of 2012 restrictions on the United StatesS.
Allow the Minister of Transport to determine whether stricter standards are required.
"Lithium batteries are a disaster waiting to happen," DeFazio said . ".
"We 've just abolished a regulation that says they can't act until people die. "But Rep. John Mica, R-Fla.
He said it is important to wait for the ICAO so that countries can formulate the same shipping regulations.
"Going in the other direction helterskelter won't do that," Mica said . ". Rep.
Ryan CostelloPa.
He said the regulation would limit the batteries of medical devices such as pacemakers and lead to "serious supply --
Chain bottlenecks, increased costs, and limited access for patients to the care necessary for medical care. "PRBA --
The charging battery Association, whose members produce 70% of the world's lithium-
Ion cell praised the House's actions as a way to raise international shipping standards and encourage better implementation of safety protection regulations.
"Consistent international regulation maximizes security," the organization said in a statement . ".
"Complex and inconsistent transport regulations can undermine safety and weaken compliance.
"The balancing measure that lawmakers and regulators have to take is that this battery is popular in many electronic products, but in the case of poor manufacturing or packaging, there may be dangers in transportation.
An example of the risk is the UPS 747 crash after leaving Dubai. 3, 2010.
The crew were burned by fire while transporting lithium batteries as cargo, although the cause of the fire was not yet determined.
Aircraft manufacturers Boeing and Airbus have both warned airlines about the potential of lithium.
The battery in the cargo compartment of a passenger plane caught fire to overwhelm the plane's fire --
Suppression system.
"Boeing supports and advocates global unified requirements related to lithium-ion battery air transport and is working with the International Civil Aviation Organization to develop safe and effective solutions, boeing said in a statement Thursday. U. S.
Regulations allow unlimited packaging of lithium-
Ion batteries are common rechargeable batteries in laptops and mobile phones, just pack them carefully.
The FAA issued a safety alert to passenger and cargo airlines on Tuesday urging them to assess the risk of transporting lithium batteries because of the fire-
Lithium cannot be controlled by the suppression system-battery fire.
The FAA says several passenger carriers have stopped accepting batteries in their cargo.
The National Transportation Safety Commission issued two proposals on Tuesday to physically separate lithium batteries on cargo planes from flammable materials and limit how many lithium batteries can be loaded on aircraft.
The coalition, which represents 52,000 pilots-the air route Pilots Association urges lawmakers to give the FAA the power to regulate batteries so that they do not pose a risk to aircraft.
Mark Rogers, the pilot and chairman of the International Committee for handling batteries, said the pilot wanted to regulate the batteries as dangerous goods by labeling, quantity restrictions, crew notices and packaging standards.
"Lithium batteries pose a major security threat to air transportation," Rogers said . ".
Even though the House committee voted, Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.
On Wednesday, the FAA proposed removing restrictions on lithium. ion batteries.
His bill will set up a task force to study new standards for the safe manufacture, use and transportation of lithiumion batteries.
He wants to add his terms to the Senate version of FAA legislation that the House is voting on.
"If the FAA tests to find fire or explosives caused by lithium
"Ion batteries can cause catastrophic damage to the aircraft, so why would someone on Earth want to ban safety regulators from shipping them in large quantities on passenger planes," Nelson said . ".