WASHINGTON — Safety advocates have warned for more than a decade that someday an air shipment of lithium batteries like those used in cameras, cell phones and countless other products would catch fire, causing a plane to crash and people to die.
That day may have arrived last month.
A United Parcel Service cargo plane with a fire raging on board, and carrying a large quantity of lithium batteries, crashed near Dubai in the United Arab Emirates on Sept. 3, killing both pilots. The cause of the accident isn't likely to be determined for months, but investigators suspect the batteries were either the source of the fire or contributed to its severity. The Federal Aviation Administration was concerned enough by the accident to warn air carriers about risks posed by lithium battery shipments.
The accident has given new urgency to a high-stakes lobbying struggle under way in Washington. Pilot unions and safety advocates are urging the government to treat air shipments of lithium batteries as hazardous materials. But rules proposed by the Obama administration are opposed by many of the nation's top retailers, electronics manufacturers, battery makers and cargo airlines, including UPS.
They say the rules would cost them hundreds of millions of dollars in added packaging, paperwork and training for employees. The rechargeable battery industry alone says the rules would cost more than $1 billion in the first year.
The makers of medical devices say the rules might mean delays in getting equipment to patients, and one electronics lobbyist even portrayed the proposal as a holiday Grinch that could drive up the cost of gift shipments.
Topic: Li-po Batteries (Read 872 times)
