Washington, D.C. —PRBA- The Rechargeable Battery Association has recommended that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration drop its proposed rule on the air shipment of lithium cells and batteries and instead adopt the International Civil Aviation Organization requirements in effect since 2009 but never implemented in the United States.

"Only by bringing U.S. regulations up to the current international standards will PHMSA be taking appropriate, legally sustainable action," PRBA said in its March 12 filing with the agency. PHMSA announced its proposed rule on transportation of lithium batteries on Jan. 8, 2010.

"PRBA remains strongly committed to safety," said George Kerchner, PRBA’s executive director. “But this rule would not address the principal cause for concern—non-compliance by shippers with existing transport regulations—while imposing unacceptable costs on all Americans."

PRBA’s comments explain that the PHMSA proposal would impose new and internationally-inconsistent requirements on the shipments every year of 340 million or more laptop computers, cell phones, power tools, digital cameras, life-saving medical equipment, and other consumer electronic products powered by lithium ion batteries. It would divert a significant amount of business from U.S. cargo air carriers, disrupt sophisticated product distribution systems, and frustrate ongoing government efforts to develop next-generation hybrid and electric vehicles powered by lithium ion batteries. A comprehensive, independent economic analysis commissioned by PRBA shows the proposal would impose direct costs on the U.S. economy of more than $1.1 billion in the first year and more than $8.5 billion over the next decade.

"Yet the simple fact of the matter is that billions of lithium ion cells and batteries have been shipped over the past decade, many repeatedly, without a single fire on an aircraft attributable to lithium ion cells, batteries or the products into which they are incorporated where existing U.S. regulations (much less the more stringent ICAO regulations) were complied with," the PRBA’s filing said.

Other highlights in the PRBA filing:

• The proposed regulation is invalid under the 1975 Hazardous Materials Transportation Act because PHMSA has not complied with congressional guidelines explaining when domestic regulations may deviate from international requirements. PHMSA’s divergence from the international lithium battery testing criteria would put the U.S. in noncompliance with the World Trade Organization’s Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement.
• PHMSA understates the direct costs attributable to the proposed rule by more than $1 billion, overstates the rule’s benefits by $200 million, and ignores the loss of American jobs and the higher costs to U.S. consumers.
• The ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel has rejected proposals almost identical to the proposed rule.
• Unless significant changes were made to aircraft, the PHMSA rule would dramatically shrink cargo aircraft capacity to carry lithium ion cells, batteries and products powered by them. This would force manufacturers to redesign product supply chains to rely more on ocean shipment of batteries and electronic products. "The end result will be delays in the delivery of life-saving medical equipment, higher costs and slower delivery of electronics products for U.S. consumers, and possibly the relocation of U.S. distribution centers to Mexico and/or Canada with a loss of jobs, payroll and revenue," PRBA said.
• PHMSA’s rule conflicts with environmental and recycling regulations and could "eviscerate" the world’s most successful manufacturer product stewardship program, operated by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation.
• "PHMSA’s proposal to make its rule effective 75 days after promulgation is unreasonable and unjustifiable, unless the final rule contains no provisions different from those adopted by the ICAO DGP and most other nations in 2009," PRBA said. If a final rule takes effect too soon, disruptions in the distribution system could have a major impact on the 2010 Christmas season.

A copy of PRBA's comments and economic analysis are available by clicking on the links provided below.

PRBA Comments

PRBA Economic analysis

About PRBA

The members of PRBA power the consumer electronics revolution. We deliver a safe, efficient, and essential power source for portable electronic equipment such notebook computers, cell phones, power tools, PDAs, and MP3 players as well as hybrid and electric vehicles. PRBA members produce approximately 70% of the world’s lithium-ion cells and account for billions of dollars in annual worldwide sales. With more than 70 members, PRBA is widely recognized as the nation’s authoritative source for information on rechargeable batteries. Visit PRBA online at www.PRBA.org.