By Andy Pasztor
Boeing Co. has warned airlines that flying bulk shipments of
lithium batteries in the bellies of its passenger jets poses
unacceptable fire hazards, likely setting the stage for
significantly tougher international packaging standards for all
such cargo.
On Friday, the Chicago-based plane maker for the first time
issued a formal, across-the-board message explicitly urging
passenger carriers world-wide to stop accepting large quantities of
the ubiquitous power sources as cargo until more-protective
packaging and enhanced shipping procedures are in place.
A Boeing spokesman on Saturday confirmed the gist of the message
sent to operators but didn't provide details or release the
document.
An array of types and sizes of lithium power cells are used in
everything from cellphones to laptop computers to power tools to
various mobile devices. Some versions that aren't rechargeable are
found in electronic cigarettes and other consumer products.
In the past, Boeing provided similar guidance to airlines but
only if they specifically requested technical advice, and it signed
an industrywide technical paper highlighting that design standards
for airlines hadn't contemplated the high temperatures and
explosive gases that can result when thousands of lithium batteries
erupt in what is called a "thermal runaway."
This time, Boeing's move, which surprised some industry
officials, went further because it was unsolicited and amounts to a
formal recommendation that is likely to be followed by virtually
all customers.
It is the large number of lithium batteries hauled and their
proximity to each other in cargo holds that poses the greatest
hazard for aircraft.
Conventional fire-retardant chemicals on planes aren't able to
put out some of those blazes, according tests conducted by the
Federal Aviation Administration.
Most other kinds of batteries haven't been shown to explode or
burn at such high temperatures
Boeing's latest message about lithium batteries, however, may
have only limited immediate or practical impact because dozens of
airlines, including Delta Air Lines, British Airways, Cathay
Pacific, Singapore Airlines and Air France, already have
voluntarily stopped putting bulk lithium batteries in the cargo
holds of their passenger planes. Some carriers have stopped
accepting cargo shipments of large numbers of lithium batteries
altogether.
As of July 1, some 28 carriers had imposed permanent or
temporary bans on bulk shipments of lithium batteries as cargo on
passenger planes, according to data assembled by the International
Air Transport Association, the leading global airline trade
group.
In addition, Airbus Group SE and a United Nations-backed panel
of global safety experts also are on record about potentially
catastrophic fire and explosion risks from rechargeable and
non-rechargeable lithium batteries, which can reach temperatures
hot enough to melt aluminum. Likewise, U.S. air-safety regulators
have repeatedly highlighted such dangers.
Friday's message is particularly important, though, because it
signals that Boeing may now be prepared to join the growing chorus
of pilot unions, airlines and other industry players calling for a
sweeping reassessment of how lithium batteries are transported as
cargo on all types of commercial aircraft. The company's message
was first reported by the Associated Press.
An international team of safety experts assembled by the
aviation arm of the United Nations later this month is scheduled to
debate sweeping changes in packaging and other safeguards affecting
a fast-growing global industry that annually churns out billions of
cells and generates an estimated $12 billion in revenue from
rechargeable batteries alone.
In addition to tougher, more-fire resistant packaging, the
expert panel has considered further reductions in the electrical
charge inside rechargeable lithium-ion batteries slated for
airborne shipments, which is one more way to reduce flammability
and possible explosions.
Within hours of Boeing's message, a leading battery trade group
released a statement suggesting that after years of battles, it may
have effectively thrown in the towel trying to stem the momentum
for such changes.
George Kerchner, executive director of the Rechargeable Battery
Association, released a statement saying "we look forward to
continuing our engagement with Boeing and other aircraft
manufacturers, the airline industry and regulators" at the experts
meeting in late July "to discuss battery transportation issues,
specifically a new and unprecedented lithium ion battery standard
and packaging criteria."
The International Civil Aviation Organization, the U.N. agency
sponsoring the deliberations, has been working for years to devise
tougher shipping standards. Some interim changes already are in
place.
In an interview on Saturday, Mr. Kerchner said he expects the
FAA to propose a specific packaging standard more rigorous than
those now in place, and "I can certainly anticipate a rough of
draft of recommendations" on various changes gaining approval of
the expert panel by the end of the month. Such proposals, though,
would have to be blessed by other ICAO groups before going into
effect, and that could be a long and controversial process.
Mr. Kerchner said his group's members still were developing
positions on major proposals expected to be discussed. However,
battery manufacturers in recent months have adopted more flexible
views on tougher standards.
Looking ahead, experts are considering everything from potential
changes in cargo compartments to revised fire-suppression
techniques. The latest push puts the onus on battery makers to show
under what conditions it would be safe to carry such cargo on
passenger planes. Battery manufacturers also are on the defensive
to explain why the same safety standards shouldn't apply to cargo
planes.
Write to Andy Pasztor at andy.pasztor@wsj.com
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