FAA Testing Examines Bulk Shipment of Lithium Batteries h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 { font-family:Helvetica font-weight: normal; } h1 { font-size: 1.2em;} h2 { font-size: 1.7em;} h3 { font-size: 1.2em;} h4 { font-size: .8em;} h5 { font-size: 1em; } h6 { font-size: 1em; } body { line-height:1.3em; color:#222222; font-family:Helvetica; -webkit-text-size-adjust:none; margin-left:0px; margin-top:0px; margin-right:0px; margin-bottom:0px; background-color:#FFFFFF; } body .footer { height: 25px; width: 100%; } .biglink { text-align:left; color:black; background-color:#86aed4; padding-left:9px; padding-right:12px; padding-bottom:2px; padding-top:2px; border-style:solid; border-top-width:0px; border-right-width:0px; border-left-width:0px; border-bottom-width:1px; border-color:#333333; } a .biglink, a:link .biglink, a:visited .biglink { color:#050505; font-weight:bold;} a, a:link, a:visited, .biglink a, .biglink a:link, .biglink a:visited { text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold} a, a:link, a:visited{ color:#464646; } .date { color:#ce2929; margin-left:12px; margin-right:12px; margin-bottom:18px; margin-top:-12px; } .author { color:#050505; margin-left:12px; margin-right:12px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-width: 1px; } p{ line-height:1.3em; } .title{ color:#050505; line-height:1.3em; font-weight:bold; margin-top:4px; margin-left:12px; margin-right:12px; } .content { margin-left:12px; margin-right:12px; font-size:0.95em } .thumbnailImage { float:right; padding-right:8px; padding-left:8px; padding-bottom:8px; padding-top:18px} img { max-width:95%; } .feedflare{ display:none} .categories{ } .footer img { padding-bottom:0px; } http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/ain-air-transport-perspective/2013-08-12/faa-testing-examines-bulk-shipment-lithium-batteries Air Transport and Cargo FAA Testing Examines Bulk Shipment of Lithium Batteries Bill Carey The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) hopes that testing the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is conducting will identify a limit for the number of lithium batteries that can be safely transported by cargo aircraft. The pilots' organization contends that stricter International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regulations that took effect on January 1 improve upon the safety of transporting lithium batteries in bulk but don't go far enough, including setting a limit on the numbers of batteries carried. "Billions of lithium batteries are shipped every year as cargo" for use in consumer electronic devices, Mark Rogers, director of ALPA's dangerous goods program, told the association's recent safety forum in Washington, D.C. "The danger comes from defective, damaged or improperly manufactured or improperly packaged batteries that may ignite in transportation...Until this [FAA] testing is complete and published, we feel that a conservative limit should be set and applied to all lithium battery shipments." The FAA has conducted previous studies of lithium battery flammability and the risks associated with battery shipments on aircraft, publishing its findings in 2004, 2006 and 2010. In the latest round of testing at the William J. Hughes Technical Center near Atlantic City, N.J., the agency is evaluating methods of safely shipping large quantities of lithium batteries. It recently completed a series of tests to "characterize the hazards of bulk shipments" of both lithium and non-lithium batteries in the cargo compartment of a former FedEx Express Boeing 727. Each test involved 5,000 batteries. The FAA said that new testing is under way to evaluate the effectiveness of Halon 1301, a liquefied compressed gas used as a fire-suppression agent, in a Class C lower cargo compartment. A Class C cargo compartment is one that cannot be readily reached by the crew, but which has a smoke-detection system and fire suppression that can be controlled from the cockpit. The testing is slated for completion by October 1. In Fiscal Year 2014, which begins in October, the FAA will conduct more tests on the 727 to assess