Lithium batterier kan være farligere enn først antatt

Air-Safety Officials Consider Further Restrictions on Batteries

Pilots' Union Steps Up Campaign for Stricter Regulation, Citing Potential Hazard

By ANDY PASZTOR

International air-safety officials are considering further restrictions on lithium batteries carried in the bellies of cargo and passenger airliners, highlighting escalating concerns about potential fire hazards.

A group of industry and government experts convened by the aviation arm of the United Nations is slated to take up the topic this week. Barely four months ago, the same U.N. agency imposed a world-wide ban on bulk shipments of lithium metal batteries-the most fire-prone type of lithium power cells-in the cargo holds of passenger jets.

But now the debate appears to be shifting to controversial proposals, advocated by pilot unions and outside experts, to possibly extend a version of that prohibition to some or all cargo aircraft. Expected to be an important issue at the sessions beginning in Cologne on Tuesday, the heightened discussion comes in the wake of new research by U.S. regulators emphasizing the risks of transporting all types of lithium batteries.

Tests by the Federal Aviation Administration revealed that lithium metal batteries, which aren't rechargeable and power consumer devices such as cameras and calculators, can erupt in flames much faster than other versions. In some cases, according to FAA results, lithium metal versions are more dangerous than previously believed because they can reach temperatures above 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit and couldn't be extinguished using existing firefighting chemicals. Lithium ion batteries, meanwhile, were prone to explode, spewing burning remnants some 150 feet.

One consultant study prepared years ago for U.S. and Canadian authorities-but disputed to this day by parts of industry-projected crashes of several big cargo planes by the end of the decade unless airlines or regulators embraced new safeguards.

It isn't clear what recommendations will come from the latest deliberations, and a final decision is months away. So far, much of the focus has been on lithium metal batteries. But this week's discussion, according to people familiar with the preparations, also is slated to cover potential limits on the number of rechargeable, lithium ion batteries carried by a single passenger aircraft.

Such power cells, ubiquitous inside cellphones, laptops and other portable digital devices, account for the bulk of the estimated 1.3 billion rechargeable lithium batteries manufactured annually around the globe.

The discussions involve bulk shipments of batteries, not batteries carried by individual travelers, although some airlines provide information warning passengers to take precautions with the batteries they carry.

The ICAO documents mention placing the "least possible burden" on battery manufacturers while still providing "the international aviation community with "an acceptable risk" level. Battery-makers are expected to launch a major effort to head off any new restrictions that might be imposed by the U.N.'s International Civil Aviation Organization. They contend that existing packaging and labeling requirements-combined with ICAO-mandated quality controls at factories-are adequate to safeguard commercial aviation.

But increasingly, experts at ICAO, the FAA and pilot unions argue more needs to be done. In the letter setting up the meeting, Nancy Graham, ICAO's top safety official, specifically cited "concerns with the risks all lithium batteries present...on both passenger and cargo aircraft."

"The more testing we do, the more concerned we are about these dangers," Gus Sarko, manager of the FAA's fire safety branch, told a conference in Washington last month.

The Air Line Pilots Association, the largest North American pilot union, is stepping up its campaign for more-stringent standards and regulations.

ALPA eventually seeks to outlaw bulk shipments of lithium metal batteries for all cargo carriers. Meanwhile, the union wants to ensure pilots have detailed information about the precise location and size of any battery shipments on a plane, and that cargo crews can get access to certain areas in the event of a blaze.

No matter what happens this week, many academics and battery industry officials anticipate tighter restrictions in coming years. "There are a lot of things that can go wrong in manufacturing and during use" of lithium batteries, according to Michael Pecht, a battery-reliability expert who teaches at the University of Maryland. "Events are rare, but they can cause fires."

"Rules for what you ship and how you ship it are bound to get tougher," according to Brian Morin, chief operating officer of closely held Dreamwater International Inc., which makes battery components.

Lithium batteries are suspected of contributing to two fiery crashes of Boeing 747 cargo planes in the past four years. Within a few minutes of receiving a fire warning, pilots of a United Parcel Service Inc. UPS +0.40% jumbo jet couldn't see their instruments because of smoke and the captain's emergency oxygen system didn't work properly.

When pilots train for fire emergencies in simulators, they typically are exposed to relatively small amounts of wispy white smoke. But in many real fire events, the smoke is much more intense, black and filled with a combination of sooty particles and toxins, according to David Lawrence, a senior investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board. It can be "completely debilitating in the cockpit, and it happens rapidly," Mr. Lawrence said during the same safety conference in Washington. "You have literally seconds" to don smoke goggles and an oxygen mask, Mr. Lawrence told pilots in the audience, with perhaps "only one chance to do it right."

Faced with such potentially catastrophic scenarios, some airlines are voluntarily acting to reduce risks. UPS and FedEx Inc. which operate the world's two largest cargo fleets, have opted to install enhanced fire-suppression equipment. Though the two systems are different, they both are designed to control flames and temperatures long enough for pilots to safely land.

Delta Air Lines Inc. on its own, about two years ago stopped accepting all types of lithium batteries as cargo, according to a spokesman. In addition, the carrier has taken steps to prevent lithium ion batteries from ending up in checked luggage, where they can potentially cause a blaze. If overhead bins get full during aircraft boarding and passengers end up having to check carry-on bags, gate agents remind travelers to remove spare lithium batteries.

Over the years, U.S. regulators have mandated improved fire-resistant cargo liners and insulation for commercial aircraft, along with a decades-old ban against U.S. passenger planes shipping lithium metal batteries. Earlier this summer, the Department of Transportation finalized rules essentially bringing the U.S. in line with ICAO packaging and labeling requirements.

But with the rechargeable-battery industry, makers of electronic devices and even trade groups representing retailers are strongly opposed to further limits on lithium ion shipments, FAA and DOT officials years ago abandoned plans for tougher overall U.S. regulations. Congress, for its part, has passed legislation blocking the FAA from revisiting those earlier proposals, barring conclusive proof that burning lithium batteries directly caused a major plane crash.