Source: http://www.govpulse.us/entries/2010/01/04/E9-30556/hazardous-materials-revision-to-requirements-for-the-transportation-of-batteries-and-battery-powered
Timestamp: 2014-03-08 21:42:28
Document Index: 253228843

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 173', 'arts 171', '§ 172', '§ 173', '§ 173', '§ 173', '§ 173', '§ 173', '§ 173', '§ 173', '§ 173', '§ 173']

govpulse | 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; Correction
II. Appeals to the Final Rule ↑
A. Dangerous Goods Transport Consulting, Inc. ↑
The January 14, 2009 final rule revised the requirements for the transportation of fuel cell cartridges under § 173.230 of the HMR (49 CFR Parts 171-180). In addition to the proper shipping name for flammable liquid fuel cell cartridges (UN3473) already included in the § 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table (HMT), the final rule added four new proper shipping names to the HMT to describe the range of fuels used in fuel cell cartridges: “Water-reactive substances,” UN3476; “Corrosive substances,” UN3477; “Liquefied flammable gas,” UN3478; and “Hydrogen in metal hydride,” UN3479.
As indicated by the expanded list of proper shipping names, fuel cell cartridges contain a number of different types of fuels with distinct hazards. Because of this variety of fuel types, we also amended § 173.230 to provide comprehensive requirements including packaging to address the hazards for all fuel cell cartridge types. In its appeal, DGTC expressed concern that the provision in § 173.230(g) prohibiting the air transport of fuel cell cartridges as limited quantities is not practical, reasonable or in the public interest. Specifically, DGTC asserts its understanding that prohibiting the air transport of fuel cell cartridges as limited quantities is not consistent with provisions in § 173.230(h) that allow fuel cell cartridges conforming to § 173.230(g) and defined as consumer commodities to be renamed “Consumer commodity” and reclassed as ORM-D since consumer commodities are authorized for transport by air in Column (9) of the HMT for the entry “Consumer commodity.” DGTC also asserts inconsistency with HMR provisions that allow for air transport of limited quantities of the fuel types typically found in the fuel cell cartridges in inner packagings subject to less stringent requirements than those for the fuel cell cartridges themselves. DGTC further contends that the prohibition imposes unwarranted additional transportation costs and places emerging fuel cell technologies at a competitive disadvantage with other portable sources of electric power such as batteries and could be detrimental to their development as an alternative energy source.
The requirements applicable to the transportation of fuel cells adopted in the January 14, 2009 final rule were initially proposed in a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published July 31, 2008 (73 FR 44820) and are consistent with standards adopted internationally in the revised editions of the ICAO TI, the IMDG Code, and the UN Recommendations. Commenters to the NPRM supported the fuel cell proposals; no commenter addressed the potential economic impact of the proposals. We note, with regard to DGTC's concern about the economic impact of the limited quantity prohibition, that harmonizationpromotes safety and facilitates international trade by minimizing the costs and other burdens of complying with multiple or inconsistent safety requirements. Thus, the benefits of a harmonized domestic and international transportation regime outweigh the costs that may be incurred. As DGTC acknowledged in its appeal, the 2009-2010 ICAO TI also prohibit the transportation of fuel cell cartridges as limited quantities on aircraft. Authorizing limited quantity exceptions for fuel cell cartridges in the HMR would be inconsistent with the ICAO TI; such differing domestic and international requirements could cause confusion for both shippers and carriers, thereby adversely affecting safety.
B. HMT Associates, LLC ↑
The January 14, 2009 final rule also revised the packaging requirements for the transportation of fuel cell cartridges under § 173.230 of the HMR. Specifically, paragraph (e) of this section provides for authorized packagings; paragraph (f) sets forth additional requirements for transportation by aircraft. HMT Associates expressed concern that the provision in § 173.230(e) to require intermediate packaging for fuel cell cartridges packed with equipment for all modes of transportation, not just air transport, differs from the packaging requirements for fuel cell cartridges packed with equipment under international standards for highway, rail, and vessel transport. Specifically, HMT Associates states:
With regard to the packaging requirements for fuel cell cartridges packed with equipment in the January 14, 2009 final rule, § 173.230(e)(2)(i) requires fuel cell:
Additionally, HMT Associates indicated that the wording of § 173.230(e)(2)(i) as adopted in the final rule is not as it was proposed in our NPRM. The wording was revised based on a comment submitted to the docket by FCC. The NPRM did not propose use of an intermediate packaging. In the preamble of the final rule [74 FR 2223], we agreed with FCC that the packaging requirements should be consistent with the UN Recommendations and the ICAO TI and indicated that revisions made to the regulatory text of the NPRM were intended to achieve consistency.
Finally, HMT Associates indicated that under the additional provisions for transportation by aircraft in § 173.230(f), the language specific to packaging requirements for fuel cell cartridges packed with equipment in the final rule differs from the proposed language in the NPRM. They noted that t