# SiGNa Chemistry — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **operation:** document - **citation:** 11-0124 - **title:** SiGNa Chemistry — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **source type:** guidance - **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration - **status:** guidance - **official:** true - **published on:** 2011-08-22 - **effective on:** Not available - **summary:** 11-0124 response to SiGNa Chemistry concerning 175.10. - **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0124.json - **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0124.md - **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0124 - **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110124.pdf **body:** <<>> u.s. Department 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE of Transportation Washington, DC 20590 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration AUG 2 2 2011 Mr. Michael Lefenfeld President & Chief Executive Officer SiGNa Chemistry 445 Park Avenue, Suite 10 10 New York, NY 10022 Ref. No. 11-0124 Dear Mr. Lefenfeld: This responds to your May 18, 2011 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) regarding the transportation in carry-on luggage of fuel cell cartridges by aircraft. Specifically, you request confirmation that a portable electronic device powered by a fuel cell cartridge containing sodium silicide (Division 4.3) may be transported under the provisions of § 175.10(a)(l9). You indicate that the fuel cell cartridge conforms to the specifications of IEC/P AD 62282-6-1, which is incorporated by reference in the HMR and provides that "the manufacturer may consider fuels, materials, designs or constructions not specifically dealt with in this document. These alternatives shall be evaluated as to their ability to yield levels of safety equivalent to those prescribed by this standard." Yes. Based on the information you provide in your letter, the fuel cell powered device is eligible for the exception in § 175. 1 0(a)(19). The fuel cell powered device must comply with all requirements in § 175.1 0(a)(l9), including the manufacturer marking "APPROVED FOR CARRIAGE IN AIRCRAFT CABIN ONLY." I hope this answers your inquiry. If you need additional assistance, please contact this office at (202) 366-8553. Sincerely, ~5~ Ben Supko Chief, Standards Development Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> W;V1Hr ~ 115.10 (a) (1'1)~~ 11 • " .L Ii'~. WiDDer ofthe H'"I YCI"'a-rr· fl 200S Presi,dmdal SiGNa " I J Gteen Cbemistry CHEMISTRY I I- &I 2-, ~~ Challenge Award Wednesday, May 18, 2011 Mr. Charles Betts Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards (PHH-I0) U.S. Department of Transportation, PHMSA 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE.~ , Washington, DC 20590 Dear Mr. Betts: I am writing regarding interpretation of 49 CFR § 175.10 (a) (19), as it pertains to crew and passenger carriage of Fuel Cell Cartridges containing water reactive substances (UN 3476) on passenger aircraft. This provision authorizes passengers and crew to carry fuel cell cartridges onboard passenger aircraft when, among other requirements, they conform to a publicly available specification from the International Electrotechnical Commission, IEC/PAS 62282-6-1. It is my understanding that you or Mr. Pfund received copies of the relevant IEC documents through your participation at the recent Atlantic City ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel Working Group meeting. If this is not the case, I would be happy to provide them to you. IEC/PAS 62282-6-1, in Annex E ofthe specification, provides for fuel cell cartridges based on borohydride compound fuel, which typically is a division 4.3, water reactive material. This specification further states (sub-clause 1.2) that, liThe manufacturer may consider fuels, materials, designs or constructions not specifically dealt with in this document. These alternatives shall be evaluated as to their ability to yield levels of safety equivalent to those prescribed by this standard." SiGNa Chemistry is engaged in the development of a fuel cell cartridge that uses a different Division 4.3 fuel, sodium silicide, with chemical reactivity comparable to that of borohydride compound fuel (see picture on p. 2). Because we evaluate these cartridges in a way that demonstrates a level of safety equivalent to that prescribed bit IEC/PAS 62282-6-1 (see test summary, p. 2), and since these fuel cartridges are in compliance with all other requirements of the HMR, it is our position that these fuel cell cartridges are authorized for carriage by passenger and crew on passenger aircraft under § 175.10 (a) (19). Do you see any issues with this position? Thank you for your attention in this matter. Sincerely, Michael Lefenfeld - President & Chief Executive Officer, SiGNa Chemistry 445 Park Avenue, Suite 1010 New York, NY 10022 Phone: +1-212-933-4101 Cc: Duane Pfund, PHH-20 Page 10f2 Lefenfeld to Betts Wednesday, May 18, 2011 <<>> Example of FC system using SiGNa Cartridges: Test Summary To ensure equivalence as provided by lEe 62282-6-1, sub-clause 1.2, • SiGNa fuel cell cartridges are tested using the published international standard lEe 62282-6-100 - this is the final international standard that followed lEe/PAS 62282-6-1}. • Testing is also in accordance with the publicly available specification lEe/PAS 62282-6-150, which provides detailed guidance on safety testing tailored to water reactive materials and that establishes levels of safety equivalent to those prescribed by lEe/PAS 62282-6-1. The validity of using lEe/PAS 62282-6-150 and lEe 62282-6-100 to establish an equivalent level of safety to lEe/PAS 62282-6-1 is supported by the in-progress work of an lEe working group of technical experts to combine all of these standards and specifications into a second edition of lEe 62282-6-100. Page 2of2 Lefenfeld to Betts Wednesday, May 18, 2011 - **truncated:** false - **body characters:** 5171