{"operation":"document","citation":"17-0080","title":"Transportation Development Group LLC — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2018-06-15","effective_on":null,"summary":"17-0080 response to Transportation Development Group LLC concerning 173.185.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-17-0080.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-17-0080.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-17-0080","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/58551/170080.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nWashington, DC 20590\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nPipeline and Hazardous\nJUN 15 2018\nAdministration\nMaterials Safety\nJames Powell\nTransportation Development Group LLC\n2023 Sims Way, Suite 372\nPort Townsend,\n, WA 98368\nReference No. 17-0080\nDear Mr. Powell:\nThis letter is in response to your July 27, 2017, letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the transportation of lithium\nbatteries contained in equipment. You describe several scenarios in which you ask whether a\nmaterial would be classified as \"UN3481, Lithium ion batteries contained in equipment.\"\nWe have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows:\nQ1. You ask if a portable Wi-Fi router with a self-contained battery would be considered a\nlithium battery contained in equipment.\nAl. The answer is yes. The lithium battery installed in the router is for the primary purpose\nof providing electrical power for its operation; therefore, for the purposes of the HMR, it\nwould be considered a lithium battery contained in equipment.\nQ2. A portablé GPS, lamp, radio, and strobe-light are installed in the same metal casing and\npowered by a single lithium battery. You ask if this would be considered a lithium\nbattery contained in equipment.\nA2.\nThe answer is yes. See Al.\nQ3.\nA portable GPS, lamp, radio, and strobe-light are installed in a piece of hard-sided\nluggage and powered by a single lithium battery. You ask if this would be considered a\nlithium battery contained in equipment.\nA3.\nThe answer is yes. See Al. The battery's primary purpose is still to provide electrical\npower to the devices; therefore, the piece of luggage containing the battery would be\nconsidered \"equipment\" for the purposes of the HMR.\nQ4.\nYou ask if the piece of luggage referenced in Q3 (i.e.., \"smart luggage\") can be\nconsidered, \"UN3481, Lithium Ion batteries contained in equipment\" when shipped as\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\ncargo (regardless of power level) if it meets the applicable requirements of § 173.185.\nFurthermore, you ask if the addition of external USB ports changes that determination.\nA4.\nThe answer is yes. See A1. The addition of external USB ports does not affect the\nclassification of the material, provided the primary purpose of the luggage is not\nexclusively to provide electric power to another device.\nQ5:\nYou describe a product called a \"lithium generator\" which consists of multiple lithium\nion cells and an AC inverter with charging capability. You ask whether this product\nwould be considered a lithium battery contained in equipment.\nAS.\nThe answer is no. Based on your description, the product would not meet the definition\nof \"equipment\" because the primary purpose of the lithium generator is to provide\nelectrical power to another device.\nQ6.\nYou ask if a \"lithium generator\" equipped with solar panels that provide power to the\ngenerator would be considered a lithium battery contained in equipment.\nАб.\nThe answer is no. See A4.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nCal gale\nChief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\naccarone\n§173.185\nDefinition\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA)\n17-0080\nFrom:\nINFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nSent:\nTuesday, August 01, 2017 10:53 AM\nTo:\nHazmat Interps\nSubject:\nFW: Emailing - InterpretationRequestfor173185_Equipment_TDGLLC.pdf\nAttachments:\nInterpretationRequestfor173185_Equipment_TDGLLC.pdf\nHi Alice,\nPlease submit this as a letter of interpretation. Please let me know if you have any questions.\nThanks,\nJodi\nFrom: Powell, Jim [mailto:jim@dgtraining.com]\nSent: Friday, July 28, 2017 8:43 PM\nTo: PHMSA HM InfoCenter <PHMSAHMInfoCenter@dot.gov>\nCc: support <support@dgtraining.com>\nSubject: Emailing - InterpretationRequestfor173185_Equipment_TDGLLC.pdf\nJuly 28, 2017\nHello,\nAttached is a request for a letter of interpretation seeking additional clarification on lithium battery issues.\nPlease let me know if there is anything else I need to do to submit this correctly.\nThanks\nJames Powell, DGSA, CDGP\nTransportation Development Group LLC\n1-808-280-6047 | 1-800-949-4834\njim@dgtraining.com\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nTransportation Development\ngroup\nTransportation Development Group LLC\n2023 Sims Way, Ste 372\nPort Townsend, WA 98368-6905\ndgtraining.com 1-800-949-4834\nJuly 27, 2017\nAttn: PHMSA Interpretations Dept, phmsa.hm-infocenter@dot.gov\nMy company provides training and consulting for Dangerous Goods Transport. We have had ongoing\nrequests for clarification from our clients on certain lithium battery issues, and it seems that writing for\nan interpretation request is appropriate. I'm sure there are other requests out there that are similar in\nmany ways to this one.\nInterpretation Request for 173.185 Definition of Equipment\nThis request is for an interpretation of the scope of the word \"equipment\" as in the shipping description\nfor UN3481, \"Lithium Ion Batteries Packed with Equipment\" or \"Lithium Ion Batteries Contained in\nEquipment\".\nThe second line of 173.185 offers this definition:\n• Equipment means the device or apparatus for which the lithium cells or batteries will provide\nelectrical power for its operation.\nI would like you to consider these scenarios to determine if UN3481 is still appropriate in a couple of\ndifferent examples.\nScenario 1: A portable wifi-router with a self-contained battery to power it. It seems clear that this\nshould be considered \"equipment\". Equipment could also include these examples:\n• A portable GPS, a lamp, a radio, a strobe-light, all with self-contained lithium ion batteries, or\nmaybe (in the case of a LED strobe light, a lithium metal battery).\nWe believe all of these items above would be construed as \"equipment\" containing a lithium battery\nrequired to provide power to those devices.\nScenario 1A: Now, what if all of these devices are installed in the same small metal casing and we use\none 99.999 Wh lithium battery (so that we do not exceed the 100 Wh limit for \"small\" batteries), to\nprovide a power-source for all these devices together at the same time and they no longer use a\ndiscrete power source for each. So it seems that this is still defined as a piece of \"equipment\" with a wi-\nfi, radio, lamp, strobe and GPS, under UN3481.\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nScenario 1B: What if instead of a metal casing all these devices are properly installed in a piece of hard-\nsided luggage. While we know that \"luggage\" is performing a non-electric function, it still seems to be\nUN3481, Lithium Ion Batteries Contained in Equipment.\nScenario 1C: Does adding USB external power ports to the \"equipment\" change anything? The\nluggage still has the radios and the lights that require one lithium battery. With a 99.999 Wh battery we\nmay have enough power to run for days, but it's still the minimum number of batteries required to run\nat all. Plugging devices into the equipment's USB port doesn't change the number of batteries needed,\nonly the length of runtime of the electronics within.\nQuestion 1 for the DOT:\nQuestion 1A: Does it matter whether the electronic devices (GPS, Wi-Fi, Strobe Light, Lamp) are\ninstalled in a housing containing just those devices to be considered \"equipment?\" Or as\nlong as the equipment meets the packaging requirements of 173.185 and any general\npacking requirements, it wouldn't matter from a transport perspective whether these\nare housed in a metal cabinet or a piece of luggage.\nQuestion 1B:\nAssuming the answer to 1A is \"no\" it doesn't matter that properly installed electronic\ndevices and the battery that powers them are installed in something else that serves\nanother purpose (i.e luggage). Does the power rating of the battery matter as long as\nit's at or below the 100 Wh limit of \"small\" batteries?\n49 CFR [173.185(c)(4)(iv)] requires: For lithium batteries packed with, or contained in,\nequipment, the number of batteries in each package is limited to the minimum number\nrequired to power the piece of equipment, plus two spares...\nThe HMR doesn't say anything about the power level (if 100 Wh or less) in equipment,\nonly the number of batteries. One battery could run the devices contained within for\nseconds, minutes, hours or days just depending upon the power-rating of that one\nbattery which is always going to be 100 Wh or less.\nScenario 2:\nDifferent Product. A \"Lithium Generator\".\nWhat if we have a fifty-pound, 1,000 Wh \"lithium generator?\"\nThe lithium generator is really just multiple lithium ion cells and an AC inverter with charging capability.\nSo it seems clear that this would be UN3480, Lithium Ion Batteries, and not \"equipment\". Some have\nargued that no, a lithium generator is actually \"equipment\" because in addition to the DC batteries,\nthere's AC inverter equipment installed, and then we could start adding additional devices to it. So two\nquestions come up:\nQuestion 2A:\nIs a one-thousand (1000) watt-hour lithium battery with an onboard inverter still\nconsidered to be a battery and not \"equipment\".\nInterpretation Request, Clarification of the term \"Equipment\". www.dgtraining.com\nPage 2\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\nQuestion 2B:\nWhat if this lithium generator were shipped with solar panels that provide power to the\ngenerator? This would still seem to be a battery under UN3480 because the\n\"generator\" isn't providing power to the panels, it is vice-versa. The battery is receiving\npower FROM the panels. So that would still seem to be a battery and not \"equipment\".\nQuestion 2C:\nIs there anything in the HMR or elsewhere that addresses the issue of \"function\" or\n\"primary function\". A giant battery with a five-cent LED light doesn't really change its\nprimary function from UN3480 to UN3481 but there is no shortage of examples that\ncould rapidly blur the lines between \"batteries\" and \"equipment\". We could start\nadding additional functionality that takes the battery beyond its power-supplying\nfunction. What if we added radios (GPS transceiver, Bluetooth, Wi-fi, an emergency-\nalert weather-radio, and emergency locator beacon) to the generator and maybe even a\nheating coil to cook something? When would it become \"equipment\" and not just a\nbattery?\nYou can carry this to an absurd extreme, but the question is still the same - when does a lithium battery.\nthat takes on additional functionality transition from UN3480 to UN3481 \"Lithium lon Battery\nContained in Equipment?\"\nIn closing this letter, I'd like to circle-back to the luggage issue, it would seem that so-called \"Smart.\nLuggage\"\n\", when shipped as cargo (we are not talking about Part 175 passenger considerations of carry-\non or checked baggage of a passenger or crew), can such cargo be considered \"UN3481, Lithium lon\nBatteries, Contained in Equipment) regardless of the power-level as long as there are the minimum\n\"Number\" of batteries as required by 173.185. If we had external USB ports fitted to the equipment, so\nthat it could, if needed, provide power to other devices, would this change anything? We're not\nchanging the number of batteries, and it's still 100 Wh or less.\nSincerely,\nuse voweel\nJames Powell, DGSA, CDGP\nTransportation Development Group LLC\n1-808-280-6047 | 1-800-949-4834\njim@dgtraining.com\nInterpretation Request, Clarification of the term \"Equipment\". www.dgtraining.com\nPage 3","truncated":false,"body_characters":11282}