{"operation":"document","citation":"18-0073","title":"Sperberstr 50e — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2018-09-11","effective_on":null,"summary":"18-0073 response to Sperberstr 50e concerning 173.185.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-18-0073.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-18-0073.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-18-0073","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/68871/180073.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nSEP 1 1 2018\nEva Glimsche\nLithium Batterie Service GbR\nSperberstr 50e\nMunich, Germany 81827\nReference No. 18-0073\nDear Ms. Glimsche:\nThis letter is in response to your May 12, 2018, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to lithium cells and batteries.\nSpecifically, you seek guidance on whether a shipper must confirm that lithium cells and\nbatteries were manufactured under a quality management program for domestic and international\ntransport.\nWe have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows:\nQ 1. You ask if lithium cells and batteries are forbidden for international transportation if a\nshipper cannot confirm that they were manufactured in accordance with the quality\nmanagement program required by the United Nations (UN) Model Regulations, 2.9.4(e)\nand the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Technical Instructions for the\nSafe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air, Part 2 2;9.3.l(e).\nAl. The answer is no. For the purposes of the HMR, the shipper is not required to confirm\nthat lithium cells and batteries were manufactured under a quality management program\nin accordance with the UN Model Regulations.\nQ2. You ask if the HMR reference the UN Model Regulations or the ICAO Technical\nInstructions requirements for lithium cells and batteries to be manufactured under a\nquality management program.\nA2. The answer is no. The HMR do not require lithium cells or batteries to be manufactured\nunder a quality management program. As required by § 173. l 85(a), each lithium cell or\nbattery must be of the type proven to meet the criteria in Part III, Sub-section 38.3 of the\nUN Manual of Tests and Criteria.\nQ3. You ask if an email confirmation verifying compliance with the quality management\nprogram would be sufficient for a shipper, even if the person who provided the email\nconfirmation did not include the email signature stating the person's full name and\nposition.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nA3. See Al.\nQ4. A4. You ask if confirmation that a company manufactures lithium cells and batteries in\naccordance with ISO 9001 would be sufficient to fulfill the quality management program\nrequirements found in the UN Model Regulations and the ICAO Technical Instructions.\nConfirmation of compliance with a quality management program, such as ISO 9001 , may\nnot be sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the quality management program\nrequirements found in the UN Model Regulations and the ICAO Technical Instructions.\nThe quality management program should be specific to the manufacturing operations of\nlithium cells and batteries and include each of the elements listed in 2.9.4(e) of the\nUN Model Regulations and Part 2 2;9.3.l(e) of the ICAO Technical Instructions. As\npreviously stated, the shipper is under no obligation to confirm that lithium cells and\nbatteries were manufactured under a quality management program for purposes of the\nHMR.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nirk D r Kin eren\nChief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nWt,su,~ t:P-,l ~\n'\"Ba.tf:.er~\n,i--oo~\nJanuary, lkeya CTR (PHMSA)\nFrom:\nSent:\nTo:\nSubject: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nWednesday, May 16, 2018 4:10 PM\nHazmat Interps\nFW: Written Guidance needed - Transport Prohibiton of lithium batteries without\nconfirmation on QM Program on hand?\nHi lkeya,\nThanks,\nJodi\nBelow is a request for a formal letter of interpretation. Please let me know if you have any questions.\nFrom: Eva Glimsche [mailto:eva.glimsche@lithium-batterie-service.de)\nSent: Tuesday, May 15, 2018 1:22 AM\nTo: Cardez, Eugenio CTR (PHMSA) <eugenio.cardez.ctr@dot.gov>\nSubject: Re: Written Guidance needed - Transport Prohibiton of lithium batteries without confirmation on QM Program\non hand?\nDear Eugenio,\nthanks for your email.\nYet unfortunately the text in 173.185 does not anwer our questions.\nSo we do need written guidance from PHMSA to include this information into our documentation for our customers.\nSince infos given via phone or email unfortunately are not legally binding. That's why we do request to get written\nguidance from PHMSA.\nThanks and best regards\nEva\nEva Glimsche\nLithium-Batterie-Service GbR - Sperberstr. 50e - 81827 Munich - Germany\nOffice +49 - 89 - 43579624 - Mobile + 49 - 171 - 4958177\neva.glimsche@lithium-battery-service.com\nwww.lithium-battery-service.com\nAm 14.05.2018 um 17:17 schrieb Cardez, Eugenio CTR (PHMSA) <eugenio.cardez.ctr@dot.gov>:\nDear Eva,\nWe have received your inquiry about the hazardous materials regulations (HMR) (49 CFR Parts\n171-180).\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nThe HMR prescribes the requirements of the Department of Transportation governing the\noffering and transportation of hazardous materials in interstate, intrastate, and foreign\ncommerce by rail car, aircraft, motor vehicle, and vessel. While we cannot provide an\nexhaustive list of each applicable requirement, we suggest you review section 173.185 for\nadditional information on lithium batteries. The hazardous materials regulations are\navailable at the following URL :\nhttps://www.phmsa . dot .gov/phmsa-regulations\nIf you require additional assistance, you may contact the Hazardous Materials Information\nCenter, which is staffed with regulatory specialists who can quickly answer your questions by\nphone, Monday through Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM EST at +1(202) 366-4488.\nSincerely,\nEugenio, Hazardous Materials Specialist\nAn e-mail response from this office is considered informal guidance. Formal guidance may be\nrequested in accordance with 49 CFR 105.20. http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/regs/interps\nFrom: Eva Glimsche [mailto:eva.glimsche@lithium-batterie-service.de]\nSent: Saturday, May 12, 2018 2:05 AM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) <INFOCNTR.INFOCNTR@dot.gov>\nSubject: Re: Written Guidance needed - Transport Prohibiton of lithium batteries without confirmation on QM Program\non hand?\nDear PHMSA Team,\nI pressed the Send-Button too early.\nLet me add the following to our request:\nWe request written guidance on the folllowing questions:\n1. If a shipper (who is not the manufacturer) cannot get a confirmation that the lithium cell or the lithium battery they\nwant to prepare for transport is manufactured according to the QM Program as requested in the UN Model\nRegulations Section 2.9.4 e) and in the ICAO Tl: Part 2, 2;9.3.1 e), does that conclude that this lithium cell or\nlithium battery if forbidden for international transport because it does not fulfill the mentioned regulations?\n2.a. Is there a reference to this UN recommendation and ICAO requirement for lithium cells and lithium\nbatteries on the Quality Management Program anywhere in the 49 CFR?\n2.b. And if so, would this missing confirmation conclude a transport prohibition within the USA?\n3. Would an email confirmation for the QM Program be sufficient, even if the sender did not include the email\nsignature $tating his full name and position? Like e.g.\nI can confirm that the lithium ion batteries powering the Kindle devices have passed the UN38.3 test and are\nmanufactured under a QM program.\n4. Would a confirmation of the manufacture according to ISO 9001 on the website of the company be sufficient to fulfill\nthe recommendations in UN Model Regulations Section 2.9.4 e) and in the requirements in ICAO Tl: Part 2, 2;9.3.1\ne)? Like e.g. by Samsung SDI under this link:\nhttp://www.samsungsdi.com/about-sdi/history/history.html\nEven if nowhere it states that the ISO 9001 is still valid.\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nThanks for looking into this.\nBest regards\nEva\nEva Glimsche\nLithium-Batterie-Service GbR - Sperberstr. 50e - 81827 M0nchen\nBuro 089- 43579624- Mobil 0171 - 4958177\neva.glimsche@lithium-batterie-service.de\nwww.lithium-batterie-service.de\nAm 12.05.2018 um 07:06 schrieb Eva Glimsche <eva.glimsche@lithium-batterie-service.de>:\nDearPHMSA Team,\nwe request written guidance on the folllowing questions:\n1. If a shipper (who is not the manufacturer) cannot get a confirmation that the lithium cell or the lithium battery they\nwant to prepare for transport is manufactured according to the QM Program as requested in the UN Model\nRegulations Section 2.9.4 e) and in the ICAO Tl: Part 2, 2;9.3.1 e), does that conclude that this lithium cell or\nlithium battery if forbidden for international transport because it does not fulfill the mentioned regulations?\n2.a. Is there a reference to this UN recommendation and ICAO requirement for lithium cells and lithium\nbatteries on the Quality Management Program anywhere in the 49 CFR?\n2.b. And if so, would this missing confirmation conclude a transport prohibition within the USA?\nLooking forward to hearing from you!\nBest regards\n· Eva\nEva Glimsche\nLithium-Batterie-Service GbR - Sperberstr. 50e - 81827 Munich - Germany\nOffice +49 -\n89 - 43579624 - Mobile+ 49 - 171 - 4958177\n_\neva.glimsche@lithium-battery-service.com ·\nwww. lithium-battery-service. com\n3\n.,","truncated":false,"body_characters":9061}