NTSB Report Urges Tighter Standards for Air Transportation of Lithium-Ion Batteries

摘要

On June 8, 2020, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) released a statement calling on the United States Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to propose a change to International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) hazmat requirements that would result in stricter regulation of low-production and prototype batteries transported by air. In its related Safety Recommendation Report titled Standards for Lithium-Ion Battery Shipments by Air, the NTSB presents findings and recommendations to PHMSA based on the NTSB's investigation of a 2016 accident in which a FedEx delivery truck containing a shipment of lithium-ion batteries was destroyed after the batteries ignited in Brampton, Ontario about 10 hours after being offloaded from cargo flights at a Toronto international airport. The NTSB found that the batteries were large-format, custom-designed lithium-ion batteries that had been shipped from the manufacturer with an improper design and combustible interior packaging that allowed damage to the cells, a short-circuit, and a thermal runaway that ultimately resulted in a fire and more than $71,000 in damage.