Safety of lithium batteries in transportation

UN Document ["Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods Manual of Tests and Criteria", 3rd Revised Edition, 1999] outlines a test plan that is fundamental to the classification for transport of lithium batteries with metallic lithium, lithium alloy or lithium-ion intercalation electrodes. The tests can be divided into two categories: safety tests (internal and external short circuit, forced-over-discharge, charge) and environmental tests (reduced pressure, thermal, vibration and shock). These safety tests tire intended to assess known unsafe behavior in abusive circumstances. This paper discusses the importance of environmental tests in the transport scenario and presents a discussion on how the existing safety tests provide only a false sense of security. Simple measures that prevent abuses in transport are suggested that would be more effective and ensure greater safety. A recent incident at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where lithium cells in transit were abused and caused to burn, is now cited by some regulators as proof that safety testing is required. This paper describes how that logic is flawed. Testing would not have prevented the LAX incident. Therefore, continued promotion of and focus on safety testing is working against the ultimate goal of improved safety in transport. This paper concludes that effective regulations should promote and maximize safe transportation of lithium batteries through environmental testing and the elimination of unsafe circumstances that enable lithium batteries to become a hazard in transport. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.