# Federal Air Marshall Service Headquarters — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **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:** Not available - **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:** <<>> of Transportation U.S. Department Washington, DC 20590 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Pipeline and Hazardous MAY 2 1 2018 Administration Materials Safety Mr. J. Michael Moore Supervisory Federal Air Marshall Federal Air Marshall Service Headquarters Law Enforcement Liaison Reference No. 17-0103 Dear Mr. Moore: This letter is in response to your September 15, 2017, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the carriage of conducted electrical weapons (CEW) aboard a passenger-carrying aircraft. Specifically, you ask if the HMR permit a passenger or law enforcement officer (LEO) to place an active (i.e., ready- to-fire) CEW in checked baggage. The answer is no. CEWs may contain hazardous materials such as explosive charges, compressed gases, and lithium batteries. Because it is a complete and active weapon, the CEW may not be placed in checked baggage unless it is rendered inert. One acceptable method that may render a CEW inert could be the removal of the lithium battery. Because the lithium battery is no longer installed in the CEW, it must be carried aboard either on one's person or in carry-on baggage. Conversely, if the only hazardous material in the CEW were the installed lithium battery, it could be considered a portable electronic device and authorized under § 175.10(a)(18) of the HMR. Again, any spare (not installed in a device) lithium batteries must be carried aboard the aircraft on one's person or in carry-on baggage. As previously stated in our June 25, 2015, letter to the United States Department of the Interior under Reference Number 15-0098, provided the conditions of 49 CFR 1544.219 are met, an armed LEO is authorized by the HMR to carry accessible weapons (including loaded firearms and CEWs) on their person aboard any passenger-carrying aircraft of U.S. registry anywhere in air commerce. Emphasis added. Passengers or crew members (non-LEOs) are prohibited from transporting active CEWs in either checked or carry-on baggage, domestically under the HMR or internationally under Part 8 of the ICAO Technical Instructions. However, a passenger or crew member may transport a CEW in checked baggage if rendered completely inert as described in the second paragraph above. <<>> We hope this further clarifies your concerns regarding the carriage of CEWs aboard aircraft. We intend to work closely with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security •Administration in a future action to assist in clarifying this issue. I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> Stevens 8175.10 exceptions Dodd, Alice (PHMSA) 11-0103 From: Sent: Foster, Glenn (PHMSA) Monday, September 18, 2017 10:00 AM To: Dodd, Alice (PHMSA) Cc: DerKinderen, Dirk (PHMSA); Foster, Glenn (PHMSA); Kelley, Shane (PHMSA); Leary, Kevin Subject: (PHMSA); Nickels, Matthew (PHMSA); Pfund, Duane (PHMSA) FW: CEWs/Tasers/Stun Guns-PHMSA Contact Attachments: DOT_PHMSA_062515.pdf Alice, Please check in the attached as an Interpretation and assign. Thanks, Glenn Sent with Good (www.good.com) From: Moore, James Sent: Friday, September 15, 2017 10:06:11 AM To: Foster, Glenn (PHMSA) Subject: CEWs/Tasers/Stun Guns-PHMSA Contact Good morning Glenn, Concerning the attached document (dated 6-25-2015) clarifying the transport of CEWs inside the aircraft cabin by law enforcement officers-LEOs (authorized to fly armed), would you be able to provide us (TSA/FAMS Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed-LEOFA Program) an updated document clarifying guidance while also including clarification on whether or not CEWs, tasers, stun guns meet DOT-PHMSA requirements to be checked (by all passengers, civilians and LEOs) in "checked baggage" which would be placed under the belly of the aircraft. FYA, we did receive the below guidance from FAA in an email concerning regular passengers. If accurate, we request (if you deem appropriate) that details from the below guidance be included in an official document (similar to the above attachment): Some of TSA's battery guidance material is borrowed from our FAA battery guidance. A taser that contains a battery -- and no other hazmat--would be just another electronic device under our hazmat rules, and allowed in baggage if it is properly protected from damage and accidental activation (but international ICAO rules specifically prohibit them). Obviously, TSA security rules would prohibit them from the cabin. Spare lithium batteries would always have to be carried in the cabin only-according to DOT/ICAO hazmat rules. But batteries are usually not the issue... Some electro shock weapons and stun guns contain a compressed gas cylinder for shooting the wire projectiles and thus even the US DOT hazmat regs do not allow them in any baggage (unless the cylinder is not pressurized). The attached DOT/PHMSA interps speak to law enforcement officers carrying Taser weapons on board. Our reasoning, we want to ensure that our guidance to LEOs and to passengers is accurate and consistent. Please call me to discuss in detail. Thank you sir, 1 <<>> Mike J. Michael Moore Supervisory Federal Air Marshal Law Enforcement Liaison Section Federal Air Marshal Service Headquarters Cell: (312) 952-3764 Office: (703) 487-3230 Email: James.Moore@tsa.dhs.gov Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed (LEOFA) Program (703) 487-0033 leofa@tsa.dhs.gov Author Unknown "It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong" From: Moore, James Sent: Friday, September 15, 2017 9:20 AM To: 'Maney, Chris (OST)' Cc: Foster, Glenn (PHMSA) Subject: RE: PHMSA Contact Thanks a lot Chris! Glenn, I'll be contacting you soon. Mike J. Michael Moore Supervisory Federal Air Marshal Law Enforcement Liaison Section Federal Air Marshal Service Headquarters Cell: Office: (703) 487-3230 (312) 952-3764 Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed (LEOFA) Program Email: James.Moore@tsa.dhs.gov (703) 487-0033 leofa@tsa.dhs.gov 'It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong" Author Unknown From: Maney, Chris (OST) [mailto:Chris.Maney@dot.gov] Sent: Friday, September 15, 2017 5:52 AM To: Moore, James Cc: Foster, Glenn (PHMSA) Subject: RE: PHMSA Contact GM Mike, Mr. Foster is Cc'd 2 <<>> Be Safe Christopher D. Maney Associate Director Special Agent In-Charge/Protective Service Division Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE Washington DC 20590 Cell: 202-309-1780 Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2017 3:12 PM From: Moore, James [mailto:James. Moore@tsa.dhs.gov] To: Maney, Chris (OST) Subject: PHMSA Contact Good afternoon Chris, As discussed, if it's not a heavy lift, are you able to provide me the contact information for a T. Glenn Foster, Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention, Standard and Rulemaking Division? Thank you in advance, Mike J. Michael Moore Supervisory Federal Air Marshal Federal Air Marshal Service Headquarters Cell: Law Enforcement Liaison Section Office: (703) 487-3230 (312) 952-3764 Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed (LEOFA) Program Email: James.Moore@tsa.dhs.gov (703) 487-0033 leofa@tsa.dhs.gov "It takes less time to do a thing right than it does to explain why you did it wrong" Author Unknown 3 <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Washington. DC 20590 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Pipeline and Hazardous Administration Materials Safety JUN 2 5 2015 Mr. Greg Lawler Chief, Operations and Policy Office of Law Enforcement and Security United States Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 Ref. No. 15-0098 Dear Mr. Lawler: This responds to your request for further clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Previously, you asked if Taser Brand conducted electrical weapons (CEW) and CEW cartridges are authorized by the HMR to be carried aboard a passenger-carrying aircraft by law enforcement officers (LEO) under the authority provided in 49 CFR 1544.219. You were concerned because Part 8, § 1.1.1 of the International Civil Aviation Organization's Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (ICAO TI) was recently revised to prohibit electro-shock weapons carried by passengers and crew members, U.S. airlines are now refusing to allow armed LEOs the ability to carry such weapons aboard passenger-carrying aircraft. As previously stated in our October 1, 2014 letter to the Department of the Interior under Reference Number 14-0145, provided the conditions of 49 CFR 1544.219 are met, an armed LEO is authorized to carry accessible weapons (including loaded firearms and electro-shock weapons) aboard any passenger-carrying aircraft of U.S. registry anywhere in air commerce. Although no passenger or crew member exceptions for the carriage of electro- shock weapons are provided under § 175.10 of the HMR and Part 8 of the ICAO TI, accessible weapons, when carried by LEOs in accordance with 49 CFR 1544.219, are not subject to the requirements of the HMR. We hope this further clarifies your concerns regarding the carriage of CEWs aboard aircraft. Currently, we are working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Security Administration to clarify this issue. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, TAlenn T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Standards and Rulemaking Division - **truncated:** false - **body characters:** 9817