FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 7, 2000       
Contact: Patricia Klinger
Tel: 202-366-4831
RSPA 21-00

DOT Issues Safety Advisory on
Transportation of Lithium Batteries

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) today is advising the public of the potential dangers in transporting lithium batteries.

"This action supports the administration’s commitment to safety as the highest transportation priority. Issuing an advisory notice is an important step in ensuring the public's safety while we continue to conduct research and work with industry and others to provide a long-term safety solution,” RSPA’s administrator Kelly Coyner said. “RSPA, as well as DOT’s Federal Aviation Administration, is presently reevaluating the hazards posed by lithium batteries in air transportation, as well as other modes of transportation, and the safety measures necessary to protect the public."

On April 28, 1999, at Los Angeles International Airport, a shipment of two pallets of primary (non-rechargeable) batteries containing lithium metal caught fire after being off-loaded. The packages were damaged during unloading. This is believed to have initiated the subsequent fire. Currently, domestic and international regulations exempt packages containing some types of lithium batteries from all hazard communication requirements (i.e., marking, labeling, and shipping papers).

The advisory notice is being issued to:

• inform persons of the Los Angeles incident involving lithium batteries and the potential hazards that shipments of lithium batteries may present while in transportation;
• recommend actions to shippers and transporters to ensure the safety of such shipments;
• provide information concerning the current requirements for the transportation of lithium batteries;
• inform persons of recommendations that RSPA and the Federal Aviation Administration received from the National Transportation Safety Board on the transportation of lithium batteries and RSPA's response to those recommendations; and
• provide information concerning initiatives being taken by members of the battery manufacturing and distribution industry to address concerns relating to transportation of these batteries.

The advisory notice is published in today's Federal Register.

###

Briefing Room