{"operation":"document","citation":"10-0236","title":"Mr. Peter Lowe — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2012-05-01","effective_on":null,"summary":"10-0236 concerning 175.10.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0236.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0236.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0236","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2010/100236.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nMAY 0 1 2012\nMr. Peter Lowe\n44785 W. Miraflores St.\nMaricopa, AZ 85139-8750\nRef. No. 10-0236\nDear Mr. Lowe:\nThis responds to your letter regarding the transportation of a passenger-provided lithium ion\nbattery-powered mobility aid under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CPR\nParts 171-180). Specifically, you ask whether a lithium ion battery designed for rapid\nremoval from a mobility aid (e.g., travel scooter) may be brought onboard an aircraft in a\npassenger's carry-on baggage and securely stowed in the cabin while the mobility aid sans\nbattery is gate-checked. You state in your letter the lithium ion battery has a watt-hour\nrating of 280 Wh (24 grams equivalent lithium content). You also state that such batteries\nare below the maximum watt-hour rating allowed in§ 175.10(a)(18) for spare lithium ion\nbatteries used to power portable electronic devices. Additionally, you correctly point out\nthat such passenger-provided spare lithium ion batteries are allowed in carry-on baggage\nonly.\nIn a final rule published on January 19,2011 (76 FR 3308; HM-215K), § 175.10(a)(17) of\nthe HMR was revised to authorize lithium ion battery-powered mobility aids (e.g.,\nwheelchair) with provisions similar to the current authorizations for spillable and non-\nspillable battery-powered mobility aids authorized in§ 175.10(a)(15) and (a)(16). Further,\nthe authorization was intended to mirror the provisions in Part 8 of the International Civil\nAviation Organization's (ICAO) Technical Instructions that allow carriage of a passenger-\nprovided mobility aid powered by a lithium ion battery. In the January 19, 2011 final rule,\nwe inadvertently required the lithium ion battery to be removed from the mobility aid. This\naction is inconsistent with provisions under the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (ACAA), as\namended, and are codified at 14 CPR Part 382.\nIn a final rule published on July 20, 2011 (76 FR 43510; HM-218F), the requirement to\ndetach a lithium ion battery from a mobility aid was removed from§ 175.10(a)(17) of the\nHMR effective August 19, 2011. This action is consistent with similar provisions in the\nHMR for other battery types used to power mobility aids and fulfills the intent of the\nACAA. Please note that the ICAO's Dangerous Goods Panel recently adopted provisions to\nallow the removal of a lithium ion battery used to power a mobility aid, if designed\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\naccordingly, and to permit the passenger to bring it aboard in carry-on baggage under certain\nconditions. We will consider this provision in a future rulemaking action.\nI trust this satisfies your concerns. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFrom:\nSent:\nTo:\nCc:\nSubject:\nAttachments:\nINFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nTuesday, November 02, 2010 2:57 PM\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nDerKinderen, Dirk (PHMSA); Lucas, Adam CTR (PHMSA)\nFW: Carriage of lithium ion batteries less than 25 gm used to power mobility scooters\n055.JPG\nHi Carolyn,\nPeter Lowe requested we submit his e-mail as a formal letter of interpretation. Mr. Lowe also requested a phone\nconversation with the person writing his letter. He has already spoken with Andrew in the Info Center at length. He was\nreferred to interp letter 10-0034 and NPRM HM-215K. Mr. Lowe also referenced a previous conversation with Michael\nStevens about this issue.\nThanks,\nVictoria\n202-366-2035\nFrom: Peter Lowe [mailto:plowe@rogers.com]\nSent: Monday, November 01, 2010 9:44 PM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA); Stevens, Michael (PHMSA)\nSubject: Carriage of lithium ion batteries less than 25 gm used to power mobility scooters\nI have Muscular Dystrophy and use a mobility scooter powered by a lithium ion battery. The battery weighs\n4.5 lbs. has 24 grams lithium (equivalent) and has 280 watt hours. The battery has a manufacturers sticker\nindicating 24gms of lithium equiv. content. It was specifically designed to follow the DOT battery regs. I attach\na picture of the battery with a coffee cup for physical size and construction reference.\nWhen flying I do my best to convince airlines that the safest place for any lithium ion battery is with the\npassenger in the cabin. In North America, the only Lithium ion battery powered mobility scooters are made by\nTravelscoot. These scooters are made of aircraft grade aluminum and weigh 29 lbs. (See Travelscoot.com for\npictures). There are no 'full size' mobility scooters currently manufactured with Lithium ion batteries.\nThe problem with the current regulations is that they only deal with 'wet or dry' or more accurately 'spillable\nor non-spillable' mobility scooter batteries. The 24gm equivalent Lithium ion battery from Travelscoot better\nfits under the 'Larger (Spare) lithium ion battery category of 8 to 25 gms. lithium equivalent.\nBecause of the method of attachment of the battery to the Travelscoot (two velcro straps) it should not be\ntransported below wing with checked luggage. It should be driven to the door of the plane and the battery\nshould be removed and carried in the cabin where it can be monitored by the passenger and if necessary the\ncabin crew. The problem with the proposed harmonization with the U.N. regulations is that the new\nregulations contemplate a 'full size' scooter where the battery is permanently attached and may be under a\nprotective housing. The requirements of airlines for inspection and position of the scooter in the hold being\nreported to the officer in charge will be distasteful to the airlines (from a time and expense point of view). In\nfact shortly after the August 24 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking one airline sent me an email announcing their\nnew policy of carrying no lithium ion powered mobility scooters at all because \"there was no way to guarantee\nthat the battery had been disconnected\". If the battery of the Travelscoot is removed and carried in the cabin\nas I suggest, there would be much less push back from the airlines from an operational viewpoint.\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nIn reality there are no mobility scooters made (or imported to North America) that are contemplated in the\nharmonized regulations. The reality is that 99.9% of the lithium ion battery powered scooters seen by U.S. air\ncarriers will be from Travelscoots.\nToday, there are a wide range of policies in practice by U.S. air\ncarriers:\n(I have flown over 1,000,000 miles in the last\n15 years and have incurred all of the following)\nSome ban Travelscoots even with sealed lead acid batteries.\nSome ban Lithium ion battery powered mobility scooters only (ie Travelscoots).\nSome accept the Travelscoot 24gm lithium ion battery as a \"spare\" larger lithium ion battery when removed\nfrom the mobility device.\nOthers insist on the battery being put below wing, attached or not to the mobility scooter (Because they\nignore that the battery is lithium ion and follow the non-spillable rules).\nThe Travelscoot battery has been tested and passed each test in the U.N. manual of Tests and Criteria.\nConfirmation from Travelscoot is available (tony@travelscoot.com). I would like it if DOT could issue a bulletin\nspecifically dealing with the Travelscoot battery (as virtually the only Lithium ion battery powering a mobility\ndevice in North America) advising that since it contains less than 25 gms. equivalent lithium content it should\nbe removed from the scooter and carried in the cabin and interpreted as falling under the 'Spare larger lithium\nion battery rules even though it is not a 'spare' but the primary battery . If and when the day comes that a\nlarger lithium ion battery/ mobility scooter is manufactured then the airlines should follow the new\nregulations with regards to entire scooter stowage with checked baggage and subject to the inspection and\ncaptain notification rules.\nI am available any time by phone or email to discuss the specifics above and look forward to your review. I\nhave a safe battery and want to be able to travel on all airlines without the difficulties I currently endure.\nThank you.\nPeter Lowe\n44785 W. Miraflores St.\nMaricopa, AZ\nPhone:519-435-1535\nplowe@rogers.com\n2","truncated":false,"body_characters":8310}