{"operation":"document","citation":"14-0066","title":"Council on the Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2014-05-30","effective_on":null,"summary":"14-0066 response to Council on the Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles, Inc. concerning 175.10.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-14-0066.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-14-0066.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-14-0066","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2014/140066.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 1 3 2014\nL' Gena Shaffer\nTechnical Consultant\nCouncil on the Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles, Inc.\n7803 Hill House Court\nFairfax Station, VA 22039\nRef. No.: 14-0066\nDear Ms. Shaffer:\nThis is in response to your letter dated April 1, 2014, requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) relating to a lithium ion battery\npowered wheelchair or other mobility aid carried by aircraft passengers or crewmembers.\nYou request confirmation of your understanding that: 1) the language in§ 175.10(a)(17) does\nnot provide a battery size restriction for mobility aids powered by a lithium ion battery; and 2)\nthe language in§ 175.1 O(a)(17)(v) is specific to collapsible mobility aids with removable\nbatteries.\nYour understanding of the requirements of§ 175.10(a)(l7) are generally correct.\nIn general, § 17 5.1 0( a )(17) does not provide a limitation on the size of the lithium ion battery\ninstalled in a wheelchair or other mobility aid. When carried by aircraft passengers or\ncrewmembers, a lithium ion battery powered wheelchair or other mobility aid that is not\nspecifically designed to allow its battery to be removed by the user (e.g., not collapsible) must\nmeet the requirements of§ 175.10(a)(17)(i) through (iv) and (vi), and must be carried as\nchecked baggage.\nHowever, for a lithium ion battery powered wheelchair or other mobility aid that is\nspecifically designed to allow its battery to be removed by the user (e.g., collapsible), the\nrequirements of§ 175.1 O(a)(17)(i), (v), and (vi) must be met. In this situation, the installed\nlithium ion battery must be removed from the wheelchair or other mobility aid and the lithium\nion battery and any spares must be carried as carry-on baggage. In addition,\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\n§ 175.1 O(a)(17)(v)(D) and (E) provide that the installed lithium ion battery must not exceed\n25 grams aggregate equivalent lithium content, and a maximum of one spare battery not\nexceeding 25 grams aggregate equivalent lithium content or two spares not exceeding 13.5\ngrams aggregate equivalent lithium content each may be carried as carry-on baggage only.\nI trust this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to\ncontact this office.\nSincerely,\n>1J~c-V-\nShane C. Kelley G\nActing International Standards Coordinator\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n16o bieh\n§ l13. J'95\nr§l7:,. JD\n13a -!.kn'es /Air\n\\~-00 lo0\nPresident\nDonald Bossow\nSr Mgr NA Reg Affairs/Global Systems\nDiversey, Inc.\nFirst Vice President\nSean Broderick\nSenior Manager, Global ~vt Relations\nProcter & Gantble Distributing LLC\nSecond Vice Presidentffreasurer\nDave Madsen\nHazMat Analyst\nAutoliv, Inc.\nSecretary\nAmy Fischesser\nCorporate Hazardous Materials Manager\nSun Chemical Corporation\nExecutive Committee J\\rlember\nRobert Heinrich\nTransportation Safety Advisor\nNovartis Pharmaceuticals\nBoard of Directors\nJohn D' Aloia\nManager Transportation Compliance\nMa1yKay\nJeanette DeGennaro\nEHS Compliance Mgr.\nInstrumentation Laboratory\nTrevor Howard\nMgr Safety/Dangerous Goods Standards\nAir Canada\nJames Jahnke\nSr. Manager Dangerous Goods\nMerck and Co.\nRichard Lattimer\nConsultant-HSE\nEli Lilly and Company\nBoyd Stephenson\nDirector, Hazardous Materials Policy\nAmerican Trucking Associations, Inc.\nDaniel Wieten\nNational Mgr Compliance Plan & Admin\nToyota Motor Sales, USA, Inc.\nJeanne Zmich\nVice President R&D\nLabelmaster\nGeneral Counsel\nRichard Schweitzer, PLLC\nApril1, 2014\nMr, Charles E. Betts\nDirector, Standards and Rulemaking Division\nU.S. DOT/PHMSA (PHH-10)\n1200 New Jersey Ave., SE\nEast Bldg. Second Floor\nWashington, DC 20590-0001\n~ng,ri~_§J?.~!t§.@QQl,gQy\nDear Mr. Betts:\nThe Council on Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles, Inc. (COSTHA) hereby\nsubmits a request for interpretation regarding 49 CFR, Part 175, §175.10,\nparagraph (a)(17). Specifically, COSTHA requests clarification that the battery\nsize limit in subparagraph (v) is specific to collapsible mobility aids with a\nremovable battery that will be stowed onboard the aircraft in the passenger cabin\nand to spare batteries for the device.\nCOSTHA is a not-for-profit organization representing manufacturers, shippers,\ndistributors, carriers, freight forwarders, trainers, packaging manufacturers and\nothers associated with the hazardous materials transportation industry. In addition\nto promoting regulatory compliance and safety in hazardous materials\ntransportation, COSTHA assists its members and the public in evaluating the\npracticality and efficacy of laws, rules and regulations for the safe transportation\nand distribution of hazardous materials.\nThe regulations specifically state:\n§175.10 Exceptions for passengers, crewmembers, and air operators.\n(a) This subchapter does not apply to the following hazardous materials when carried by\naircraft passengers or crewmembers provided the requirements of§§ 171.15 and\n171.16 (see paragraph (c) of this section) and the requirements of this section are\nmet:\n(17) A wheelchair or other mobility aid equipped with a lithium ion battery, when carried as\nchecked baggage, provided-\n(i) The lithium ion battery must be of a type that successfully passed each test in the\nUN Manual of Tests and Criteria (IBR; see § 171.7 of this subchapter), as\nspecified in §173.185 of this subchapter, unless approved by the Associate\nAdministrator;\n(ii) The operator must verify that:\n(A) Visual inspection of the wheelchair or other mobility aid reveals no obvious\ndefects;\n(B) Battery terminals are protected from short circuits (e.g., enclosed within a\nbattery housing);\n(C) The battery must be securely attached to the mobility aid; and\n(D) Electrical circuits are isolated;\nCouncil on Safe Transportation ofHazatdous Articles\n7803 Hffi HouseCa.ut, FairfaxSiaticn, VA 22039 • Plu1e: (518)761-0389 • Fax: (518)792-7781 • \\1\\N\\NV.ccslha.a:rn\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n(iii) The wheelchair or other mobility aid must be loaded and stowed in such a manner to prevent its\nunintentional activation and its battery must be protected from short circuiting;\n(iv) The wheelchair or other mobility aid must be protected from damage by the movement of\nbaggage, mail, service items, or other cargo;\n(v) Where a lithium ion battery-powered wheelchair or other mobility aid is specifically designed to\nallow its battery to be removed by the user (e.g., collapsible):\n(A) The battery must be removed from the wheelchair or other mobility aid according to\ninstructions provided by the wheelchair or other mobility aid owner or its manufacturer;\n(B) The battery must be carried in carry-on baggage only;\n(C) Battery terminals must be protected from short circuits (by placement in original retail\npackaging or otherwise insulating the terminal e.g. by taping over exposed terminals or\nplacing each battery in a separate plastic bag or protective pouch);\n(D) The battery must not exceed 25 grams aggregate equivalent lithium content; and\n(E) A maximum of one spare battery not exceeding 25 grams aggregate equivalent lithium\ncontent or two spares not exceeding 13.5 grams aggregate equivalent lithium content each\nmay be carried;\n(vi) The pilot-in-command is advised either orally or in writing, prior to departure, as to the location of\nthe lithium ion battery or batteries aboard the aircraft.\nAs written, COSTHA believes §175.1 O(a)(17)(v) applies only to devices that are designed to\nhave the battery removed (e.g. devices such as the travel scoot scooter). We further believe\nthe sub-sub-subparagraphs (D) and (E) to § 175.1 O(a)(17)(v) specify the size limits for these\nbatteries since they will be removed by the user from the device and transported in the\npassenger cabin. Currently, the HMR requirements are consistent with the ICAO requirements\nindicating no specific size limit for batteries installed in mobility aids or wheelchairs to be\ntransported in the cargo hold of the aircraft.\nIn HM-215K, published January 7, 2013 PHMSA also clarifies a \"lithium ion battery specifically\ndesigned to be removed from a mobility aid (e.g. collapsible) by the user and any spare\nbatteries must be transported in carry-on baggage .. \"\nIt is COSTHA's position that any battery size limit for lithium ion mobility aids with the battery\ninstalled would be listed in § 175.1 O(a)(17)(i) through (iv) and not as a sub clause to (v) which\ndetails a specific device type. Following the basic outline for the Code of Federal Regulations,\nSection 175.10, paragraph (a), subparagraph (17), sub-subparagraph (v) only applies \"where a\nlithium ion battery-powered wheelchair or other mobility aid specifically designed to allow its\nbattery to be removed by the user (e.g. collapsible):\" Therefore sub-subparagraphs (A) through\n(E) apply only to subparagraph (v). The size limits at sub-subparagraph (D) and (E) apply only\nto batteries removed by the user from collapsible mobility aids and carried in carry-on baggage\nwhere the regulations provide that the carry-on battery must not exceed 25 grams aggregate\nequivalent lithium content with provisions for additional spare batteries.\nSpecifically, we request that PHMSA confirm COSTHA's interpretation that a) the current\nlanguage in §175.10(a)(17) does not provide a size restriction for mobility aids powered by\nlithium ion batteries installed in the device for acceptance as checked baggage, b)\n§175.10(a)(17)(v) is specific to collapsible mobility aids with removable batteries to be carried\non-board the aircraft in the passenger cabin, and c) sub-sub-subparagraphs A through E\nprovide the specific compliance requirements for those devices, including the battery limitation\nof 25 grams aggregate equivalent lithium content in (D) and spare battery(ies) in (E).\n~~~---~~-\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nIf you have any questions or would like to discuss these issues further, please do not hesitate to\ncontact me.\nRespectfully submitted,\nL'Gena Shaffer\nTechnical Consultant\n---\n---------------------","truncated":false,"body_characters":10057}