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**1363 Capital Drive - Fond du Lac, WI 54936-1403 - U.S.A.**

**Phone: 1-920-922-6490 Fax: 1-920-922-6750**

**E-Mail: info @ fedcoelectronics.com**

September 29, 2008

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)

Division of the U.S. Department of Transportation

Washington, DC

[Reference: Docket Number: PHMSA-2008-0005 (HM-215J)
entitled]{.underline}:

Hazardous Materials: Revision to Requirements for the Transportation of
Batteries and Battery Powered Devices; and Harmonization With the United
Nations Recommendations, International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code,
and International Civil Aviation Organization's Technical Instructions.

Dear Sir or Madam,

Our company, Fedco Electronics, Inc. (Fedco) wishes to submit the
following comments on PHMSA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM)
regarding the lithium battery regulations found at 49 CFR §173.185.

Fedco is a member or the Portable Rechargeable Battery Association
(PRBA) and I am an active member of the PRBA ad-hoc lithium /
lithium-ion transportation safety committee that has been working with
PHMSA for a number of years. As you may be aware Fedco is a woman owned
small business that manufactures and distributes battery cells and
battery pack assemblies to resellers worldwide, and in fact, almost 30%
of our sales are for export.

The International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Subcommittee on
the Transport of Dangerous goods has spent considerable time and effort
on reviewing and developing a new set of Model Regulations that affect
lithium batteries and they recently published six new Packing
Instructions that not only cover lithium metal (primary) cells and
batteries under UN3090 and UN3091 but also established new regulations
for lithium-ion and lithium polymer cells and batteries (rechargeable)
under UN3480 and UN3481. Under the UN3480 and UN3481 the size unit of
measure has been changed from Equivalent Lithium Content in grams (ELC)
to Watt Hours (Wh). This change was long overdue, because the ELC unit
of measure never made any sense and it was difficult to measure. Watt
Hours can be easily calculated from battery pack labels. The new Packing
Instructions, although somewhat restrictive, are well explained and
relative easy to understand. The new Packing Instructions do require two
new separate handling labels to be affixed to the shipping carton. Our
company has recently purchased these custom designed labels to be ready
for January 1, 2009.

Upon receiving the referenced Docket Number PHMSA-2008-0005 (HM-215) I
was appalled to find under Requirements for lithium batteries on Page
44810 of the Federal Register that "*Amendments to the HMR pertaining to
lithium batteries based on the Fifteenth revised edition of the UN
Recommendations **are not being proposed** in this rulemaking."* Based
on this NPRM our company must comply with two different sets of shipping
and packaging rules, carton weights and markings, and use extreme
diligence when shipping both lithium metal and lithium-ion cells and
batteries to attempt to remain in compliance.

The NPRM also proposes a revised classification for "dry battery
chemistries, which we assume will include Nickel-Cadmium, Metal-Metal
Hydride, Alkaline and Zinc Carbon chemistries, all of which are in our
product lines. The requirements for the air waybill to contain the words
"Not Restricted" will become, again, an additional workload to remain
compliant.

Compliance with both the IATA regulations for export shipments as well
as different U.S. DOT regulations for domestic shipments will have a
major economic impact on our business. In regard to the economic impact,
on October 23, 2007 I submitted to Mr. Bob Richard the Deputy
Administrator of the Office of Hazardous Material Safety -- PHMSA, at
his request, a cost analysis based on the first 42 weeks of 2007 showing
a breakdown of additional costs required to ship using Class 9
packaging. At that time the new UN3480 & UN3481 had been already been
proposed. Although this does not exactly apply to the current and newly
proposed regulations, it does show what kind of an impact that tighter
and more restrictive regulations will have on our business. This impact
will be 15% to 20% greater than that of a year ago due to an increased
level of business, not to mention the "Not Restricted" requirement. In
today's market, competing against Chinese imports, these additional
costs cannot be easily passed on to the customer.

Fedco therefore strongly urges PHMSA to come into full harmony with the
Fifteenth Revised Edition of the UN Model Regulations, including the
adoption of UN3480 & UN3481 classifications for lithium-ion rechargeable
cells and batteries.

I understand that there will be a UN Lithium Battery Informal Working
Group Meeting in Washington DC on November 11-13, 2008 and that PHSMA
will be in attendance. I also plan on being in attendance at that
meeting and will be glad and willing to discuss these matters more fully
at that time.

Sincerely,

#  / Steve Victor /

Stephen P. Victor, Jr. P.E.

President & C.O.O.

Tel: 1-920-922-6490, Toll Free: 1-800-542-9761

Fax: 1-920-922-8887

e-mail: <svictor@fedcoelectronics.com>

Web site: [www.fedcoelectronics.com](http://www.fedcoelectronics.com/)

cc: George Kerchner -- Executive Director - PRBA