{"operation":"document","citation":"17-0103","title":"Federal Air Marshall Service Headquarters — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2018-05-21","effective_on":null,"summary":"17-0103 response to Federal Air Marshall Service Headquarters concerning 175.10.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-17-0103.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-17-0103.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-17-0103","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/58026/170103.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nof Transportation\nU.S. Department\nWashington, DC 20590\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMAY 2 1 2018\nAdministration\nMaterials Safety\nMr. J. Michael Moore\nSupervisory Federal Air Marshall\nFederal Air Marshall Service Headquarters\nLaw Enforcement Liaison\nReference No. 17-0103\nDear Mr. Moore:\nThis letter is in response to your September 15, 2017, email requesting clarification of the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the carriage of\nconducted electrical weapons (CEW) aboard a passenger-carrying aircraft. Specifically, you ask\nif the HMR permit a passenger or law enforcement officer (LEO) to place an active (i.e., ready-\nto-fire) CEW in checked baggage.\nThe answer is no. CEWs may contain hazardous materials such as explosive charges,\ncompressed gases, and lithium batteries. Because it is a complete and active weapon, the CEW\nmay not be placed in checked baggage unless it is rendered inert. One acceptable method that\nmay render a CEW inert could be the removal of the lithium battery. Because the lithium battery\nis no longer installed in the CEW, it must be carried aboard either on one's person or in carry-on\nbaggage. Conversely, if the only hazardous material in the CEW were the installed lithium\nbattery, it could be considered a portable electronic device and authorized under § 175.10(a)(18)\nof the HMR. Again, any spare (not installed in a device) lithium batteries must be carried aboard\nthe aircraft on one's person or in carry-on baggage.\nAs previously stated in our June 25, 2015, letter to the United States Department of the Interior\nunder Reference Number 15-0098, provided the conditions of 49 CFR 1544.219 are met, an\narmed LEO is authorized by the HMR to carry accessible weapons (including loaded firearms\nand CEWs) on their person aboard any passenger-carrying aircraft of U.S. registry anywhere in\nair commerce. Emphasis added. Passengers or crew members (non-LEOs) are prohibited from\ntransporting active CEWs in either checked or carry-on baggage, domestically under the HMR or\ninternationally under Part 8 of the ICAO Technical Instructions. However, a passenger or crew\nmember may transport a CEW in checked baggage if rendered completely inert as described in\nthe second paragraph above.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nWe hope this further clarifies your concerns regarding the carriage of CEWs aboard aircraft. We\nintend to work closely with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security\n•Administration in a future action to assist in clarifying this issue.\nI hope this information is helpful. 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\nStevens\n8175.10\nexceptions\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA)\n11-0103\nFrom:\nSent:\nFoster, Glenn (PHMSA)\nMonday, September 18, 2017 10:00 AM\nTo:\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA)\nCc:\nDerKinderen, Dirk (PHMSA); Foster, Glenn (PHMSA); Kelley, Shane (PHMSA); Leary, Kevin\nSubject:\n(PHMSA); Nickels, Matthew (PHMSA); Pfund, Duane (PHMSA)\nFW: CEWs/Tasers/Stun Guns-PHMSA Contact\nAttachments:\nDOT_PHMSA_062515.pdf\nAlice,\nPlease check in the attached as an Interpretation and assign.\nThanks,\nGlenn\nSent with Good (www.good.com)\nFrom: Moore, James <James.Moore@tsa.dhs.gov>\nSent: Friday, September 15, 2017 10:06:11 AM\nTo: Foster, Glenn (PHMSA)\nSubject: CEWs/Tasers/Stun Guns-PHMSA Contact\nGood morning Glenn,\nConcerning the attached document (dated 6-25-2015) clarifying the transport of CEWs inside the aircraft cabin by law\nenforcement officers-LEOs (authorized to fly armed), would you be able to provide us (TSA/FAMS Law Enforcement\nOfficers Flying Armed-LEOFA Program) an updated document clarifying guidance while also including clarification on\nwhether or not CEWs, tasers, stun guns meet DOT-PHMSA requirements to be checked (by all passengers, civilians and\nLEOs) in \"checked baggage\" which would be placed under the belly of the aircraft.\nFYA, we did receive the below guidance from FAA in an email concerning regular passengers. If accurate, we request (if\nyou deem appropriate) that details from the below guidance be included in an official document (similar to the above\nattachment):\nSome of TSA's battery guidance material is borrowed from our FAA battery guidance. A taser that contains a battery --\nand no other hazmat--would be just another electronic device under our hazmat rules, and allowed in baggage if it is\nproperly protected from damage and accidental activation (but international ICAO rules specifically prohibit them).\nObviously, TSA security rules would prohibit them from the cabin. Spare lithium batteries would always have to be\ncarried in the cabin only-according to DOT/ICAO hazmat rules. But batteries are usually not the issue...\nSome electro shock weapons and stun guns contain a compressed gas cylinder for shooting the wire projectiles and thus\neven the US DOT hazmat regs do not allow them in any baggage (unless the cylinder is not pressurized). The attached\nDOT/PHMSA interps speak to law enforcement officers carrying Taser weapons on board.\nOur reasoning, we want to ensure that our guidance to LEOs and to passengers is accurate and consistent. Please call\nme to discuss in detail.\nThank you sir,\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nMike\nJ. Michael Moore\nSupervisory Federal Air Marshal\nLaw Enforcement Liaison Section\nFederal Air Marshal Service Headquarters\nCell:\n(312) 952-3764\nOffice: (703) 487-3230\nEmail: James.Moore@tsa.dhs.gov\nLaw Enforcement Officers Flying Armed (LEOFA) Program\n(703) 487-0033\nleofa@tsa.dhs.gov\nAuthor Unknown\n\"It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong\"\nFrom: Moore, James\nSent: Friday, September 15, 2017 9:20 AM\nTo: 'Maney, Chris (OST)' <Chris.Maney@dot.gov>\nCc: Foster, Glenn (PHMSA) <Glenn. Foster@dot.gov>\nSubject: RE: PHMSA Contact\nThanks a lot Chris!\nGlenn, I'll be contacting you soon.\nMike\nJ. Michael Moore\nSupervisory Federal Air Marshal\nLaw Enforcement Liaison Section\nFederal Air Marshal Service Headquarters\nCell:\nOffice: (703) 487-3230\n(312) 952-3764\nLaw Enforcement Officers Flying Armed (LEOFA) Program\nEmail: James.Moore@tsa.dhs.gov\n(703) 487-0033\nleofa@tsa.dhs.gov\n'It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong\"\nAuthor Unknown\nFrom: Maney, Chris (OST) [mailto:Chris.Maney@dot.gov]\nSent: Friday, September 15, 2017 5:52 AM\nTo: Moore, James <James.Moore@tsa.dhs.gov>\nCc: Foster, Glenn (PHMSA) <Glenn. Foster@dot.gov>\nSubject: RE: PHMSA Contact\nGM Mike,\nMr. Foster is Cc'd\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nBe Safe\nChristopher D. Maney\nAssociate Director\nSpecial Agent In-Charge/Protective Service Division\nOffice of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response\nDepartment of Transportation\n1200 New Jersey Ave. SE\nWashington DC 20590\nCell: 202-309-1780\nSent: Thursday, September 14, 2017 3:12 PM\nFrom: Moore, James [mailto:James. Moore@tsa.dhs.gov]\nTo: Maney, Chris (OST)\nSubject: PHMSA Contact\nGood afternoon Chris,\nAs discussed, if it's not a heavy lift, are you able to provide me the contact information for a T. Glenn Foster, Chief,\nRegulatory Review and Reinvention, Standard and Rulemaking Division?\nThank you in advance,\nMike\nJ. Michael Moore\nSupervisory Federal Air Marshal\nFederal Air Marshal Service Headquarters\nCell:\nLaw Enforcement Liaison Section\nOffice: (703) 487-3230\n(312) 952-3764\nLaw Enforcement Officers Flying Armed (LEOFA) Program\nEmail: James.Moore@tsa.dhs.gov\n(703) 487-0033\nleofa@tsa.dhs.gov\n\"It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong\"\nAuthor Unknown\n3\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nWashington. DC 20590\n1200 New Jersey Avenue SE\nPipeline and Hazardous\nAdministration\nMaterials Safety\nJUN 2 5 2015\nMr. Greg Lawler\nChief, Operations and Policy\nOffice of Law Enforcement and Security\nUnited States Department of the Interior\n1849 C Street, N.W.\nWashington, D.C. 20240\nRef. No. 15-0098\nDear Mr. Lawler:\nThis responds to your request for further clarification of the Hazardous Materials\nRegulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Previously, you asked if Taser Brand\nconducted electrical weapons (CEW) and CEW cartridges are authorized by the HMR to be\ncarried aboard a passenger-carrying aircraft by law enforcement officers (LEO) under the\nauthority provided in 49 CFR 1544.219. You were concerned because Part 8, § 1.1.1 of the\nInternational Civil Aviation Organization's Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of\nDangerous Goods by Air (ICAO TI) was recently revised to prohibit electro-shock weapons\ncarried by passengers and crew members, U.S. airlines are now refusing to allow armed\nLEOs the ability to carry such weapons aboard passenger-carrying aircraft.\nAs previously stated in our October 1, 2014 letter to the Department of the Interior under\nReference Number 14-0145, provided the conditions of 49 CFR 1544.219 are met, an armed\nLEO is authorized to carry accessible weapons (including loaded firearms and electro-shock\nweapons) aboard any passenger-carrying aircraft of U.S. registry anywhere in air\ncommerce. Although no passenger or crew member exceptions for the carriage of electro-\nshock weapons are provided under § 175.10 of the HMR and Part 8 of the ICAO TI,\naccessible weapons, when carried by LEOs in accordance with 49 CFR 1544.219, are not\nsubject to the requirements of the HMR.\nWe hope this further clarifies your concerns regarding the carriage of CEWs aboard aircraft.\nCurrently, we are working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration and the\nDepartment of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration to clarify this\nissue. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nTAlenn\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nStandards and Rulemaking Division","truncated":false,"body_characters":9817}