# Leiter & Cramer PLLC — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 07-0183 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2007-12-19 07-0183 response to Leiter & Cramer PLLC concerning 172.102. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E. Washington, D.C. 20590 DEC 1 9 2007 Mr. Adam B. Cramer Leiter & Cramer PLLC 8 15 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 220 Washington, DC 20006 Ref. No.: 07-01 83 Dear Mr. Cramer: This is in response to your September 2 1,2007 letter concerning Special Provision 189 in 8 172.102 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 17 1 - 180) as amended in Docket HM-224C and HM-224E, published August 9,2007 (72 FR 44929). Your questions are paraphrased and answered as follows: Q 1. How many four-cell lithium batteries may be packaged together before a shipper of lithium batteries is subject to Special Provision 189, paragraph (f)? A1 . Twelve. Special Provision 189, paragraph ( f ) states; "Except when contained in equipment, each package containing more than 24 lithium cells or 12 lithium batteries must be.. ." The threshold is based on batteries or cells; in your scenario you are shipping batteries and need only consider the quantity of batteries shipped. Q2. Special Provision 189, paragraph (f)(l) states; "Marked to indicate that it contains lithium batteries, and that special procedures should be followed in the event that the package is damaged.. ." What is meant by "special procedures?" A2. The "special procedures" should be specific actions to be taken, as determined by the offeror of the batteries, to protect the people and property in proximity to the batteries in the event of damage to the packaging. These instructions should include inspection and repackaging guidance if necessary. I hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely. Hattie L. Mitchell Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Office of Hazardous Materials Standards <<>> Clarification question regarding HM 224-C Page 1 of 2 Drakeford, Carolyn From: Gale, John Sent: Friday, September 21, 2007 7: 14 AM To: Drakeford, Carolyn Cc: Pollack, Arthur Subject: FW: Clarification question regarding HM 224-C From: Adam 0. Cramer [mailto:abc@leitercramer.com] Sent: Thursday, September 20, 2007 4:20 PM To: Gale, John Subject: Clarification question regarding HM 224-C bq- 01 s's Mr. Gale - I have two academic questions about the new lithium battery rule's Special Provision 189. Section " F provides for the ground shipment of lithium cells and batteries when they (1) are not contained in equipment and (2) exceed certain cellslbattery per-package limits. Question #I : Are the 24 cell 1 12 battery limits per package to be taken together or alternatively? Put another way, how many four-cell batteries could a package contain without triggering the requirements in F -- six of the batteries (containing an aggregate total of 24 cells) or twelve of the batteries (containing an aggregate total of 48 cells)? Question #2: Once the celllbattery per-package limits are exceeded (however the limits are determined) and the requirements in F are triggered, what exactly are the "special procedures" that should be followed when the package is "damaged?" I suppose the same question applies to the "special procedures" referenced in the accompanying document. Are the procedures to be developed by the shipper per their subjective assessment of what is best given the nature of the package? Could the procedure simply be to call a toll-free number for assistance? I cannot find any guidance on this in the Federal Register entry. Thank you in advance for your insight on these queries. Best regards, Adam Cramer Leiter & Cramer PLLC 81 5 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 220 Washington, DC 20006 202.386.7671 (t) 202.386.7672 (9 This electronic message contains information from Leiter & Cramer PLLC, which may be privileged. The 9/21/2007 <<>> Page 2 of 2 information is intended to be for the use of the addressee(s) only. If you are not the addressee, note that any disclosure, copy, distribution or use of the contents of this message is prohibited. k Clariiication question regarding HM 224-C ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `f5091867d2247780b48c4bbb963bc6c53ae98ea806c233004a5a022d656dcba7` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-22T20:47:08.885Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-07-0183` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Leiter & Cramer PLLC" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Adam B. 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