USA: Battery hazards in transit outlined

Advanced Battery Technology, Sep 1999

The Department of Transportation (DOT) reminded shippers that batteries require proper packaging while in transit, reports The Journal of Commerce.

The Research and Special Programs Administration, the DOT unit that regulates transportation of hazardous materials, issued an advisory in light of multiple incidents in which batteries or devices that contained batteries caught fire or began smoking due to improper packaging.

Among the incidents was the 1997 ignition of electric storage batteries that were being taken to an airport by a messenger service. The year before, a box containing lawn mowers equipped with batteries began to burn in an air cargo facility. Battery short-circuits also have led to fires in passenger baggage, the administration said.

The steps that the administration requires to avoid problems include effective insulation of exposed battery terminals or disconnection of the battery if it is housed in other equipment.