Appliance Design - January 2008 - (Page 64)

ASSOCIATION REPORT: PRBA George A. Kerchner Executive Director Portable Rechargeable Battery Association D Lithium-Ion in the Limelight in-flight fires involving both primary and secondary lithium batteries. 4Testing and incident data indicate that lithium batteries can pose a fire hazard. As a result, the NTSB recommended that the “exception” in the U.S. hazardous materials regulations for small, consumer-type batteries be eliminated until further analysis on the safety of lithium-ion batteries can be conducted. The NTSB’s recommendation ignored the fact that the further analysis it sought has already been completed. In November, after considerable study and discussion, the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Dangerous Goods Panel adopted significant amendments to regulations that govern the transport of lithium-ion batteries, and the equipment powered by them, when shipped on passenger and cargo aircraft. PRBA was granted Advisor status to the ICAO Dangerous Goods Panel and played a significant role in ensuring that the ICAO adopted a reasonable set of regulations that will help facilitate the transport of lithium-ion batteries and portable electronic equipment. These regulations fulfill the very goal the NTSB has advocated. China also has stepped into the fray. China’s Ministry of Information Industry (MII) recently proposed to standardize all cellular phone batteries sold in China. The proposal would require batteries to be reduced to three or four standard sizes and meet certain specifications. MII asserts such standardization will improve the safety of cellular phone batteries and reduce waste. PRBA has been working closely on this issue with several major cell-phone manufacturers and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), which often negotiates directly with foreign governments and helps resolve disputes on such matters. Progress seems to be being made on this issue, although it clearly will continue to be a concern in 2008. These types of regulatory initiatives and media attention will only increase as lithium-ion technology expands into more portable and large-format applications. This creates challenges as well as opportunities for the lithium-ion battery and electronics’ industries. PRBA’s work is critical to ensuring that industry views are heard and responded to in U.S. and international forums. < uring the past 18 months, the Portable Rechargeable Battery Association (PRBA) and more than 15 U.S. and international government agencies, standards organizations, and industry associations have devoted their attention to issues associated with the manufacture, use and transport of lithiumion batteries. These include, but are not limited to, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), United Nations Subcommittee of Experts on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, China’s Ministry of Information Industry (MII), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), International Federation of Air Line Pilots Association (IFALPA), National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), Hong Kong Civil Aviation Department, and the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Administration (CPSC). PRBA has been the lead trade association working with these agencies, organizations, and associations on behalf of the rechargeable battery industry. The widespread use of lithium-ion batteries in portable electronic appliances has recently resulted in some unjustified negative media attention. Recent press reports, for example, claimed that an “exploding” cell-phone battery killed a Korean man. However, the day after this story broke, a co-worker admitted that he accidentally killed the man while backing up a drilling vehicle at the quarry where they both worked. He also acknowledged that the exploding cell-phone story was a fabrication. Unfortunately, the media often publicize the allegations but only rarely – and often incompletely – report the facts that debunk the initial story. The battery industry must respond and critique erroneous and premature media reports, as well as regulatory initiatives sparked by heightened public awareness of the issues. At a recent hearing of the NTSB, lithium-ion batteries were cited as a possible cause of a February 2006 cargo fire on a UPS plane that occurred at a Philadelphia airport. This was a disappointing development, because the NTSB has also publicly concluded that “the exact origin and cause of the in-flight fire on board the airplane could not be determined.” Despite this, the NTSB concluded that: 4Flight crews on cargo-only aircraft remain at risk from 64 applianceDESIGN January 2008 www.applianceDESIGN.com http://www.appliancedesign.com

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Appliance Design - January 2008 Contents Editorial Shipments/Forecasts News Watch Makers of Commercial Refrigeration Equipment Turn to Variable-Speed Motors to Improve Energy Efficiency. New Motor Design and Control Scheme Makes Brushless Motors More Economically Feasible for a Wider Range of Applications. External Gas Molding, a Relatively New Technique, Solves Many of the Challenges Associated with the Injection Molding of Large Plastic Parts. Plastic Housings Offer Many Benefits: EMI Protection Isn't One of Them. But, New Materials and Techniques are Solving that Problem. Choosing the Optimal Strategy for Effective EMI Shielding Depends on Both Mechanical and Electrical Requirements Ethernet-Enabled Microcontroller Makes Networking Schemes Easier and More Cost Effective to Implement The Ever-Changing Array of Microcontroller Memory Options Makes it Imperative to Keep Abreast of What's Available to Determine the Optimal Choice for an Application. A Vast Range of Components and Finished Products will be Exhibited at the Country's Preeminent HVAC/R Show, AHR Expo, which is Scheduled for Jan. 22-24 in New York. Advertiser's Index Association Report: PRBA

Appliance Design - January 2008

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