House passes bill protecting Apple, others from lithium batteries classification
The House approved legislation that would prevent the U.S. from enacting a proposed rule limiting lithium-ion battery shipments by classifying the batteries as hazardous materials. The legislation addresses a rule proposed by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) along with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
The PHMSA rule would cost companies including Apple an initial $1.3 billion to comply with new packaging, training and handling requirements designed to limit overheating and potential explosion of these batteries while in transit. This rule would apply to stand-alone batteries as well as those included in notebooks, mobile phones, and digital cameras.
All this discussion stems from both explosions and fires caused by poorly manufactured lithium-ion batteries in electronic devices. Apple experienced trouble in the past with the batteries in select iBook, PowerBook and MacBook Pro models. The battery problem was so pronounced in the PowerBook 5300 that it earned the nickname "Hindenbook". Since those rocky years in the early 2000s, Apple has spent much time and money improving and standardizing lithium battery technology.
[Via AppleInsider]
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The House approved legislation that would prevent the U.S. from enacting a proposed rule limiting lithium-ion battery shipments by...
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Lobbyists working hard to keep people in harms way.
Mr. Boehner, where are the jobs? Three months with no jobs bills.
While this legislation is aimed at corporations, it has ramifications for individuals as well. When I sent an (as in one) iPhone to Asia, Fed Ex required that I complete paperwork related to shipping its "hazardous" Bit-O-Honey sized battery. This triggered a sequence of events at the customs office there that took three months to straighten out. In the end they shipped the phone back, as if that was somehow safer.
The takeaway, I suppose, is to not be truthful about what you're shipping. That's not in my moral sphere, but neither was this sequence of events.
Awesome, so now consumers whose homes/bodies/belongings/children burn due to faulty laptop/phone/tablet/etc batteries will have no recourse!
The US House of Representatives: Protecting Corporations From Responsibility Since 1774.
shakespeare was a bit off... the first thing we do is kill all the lobbyists!
=D
Not the point at all; this is about packaging/shipping requirements, not build quality. If they screw up the design and build, they're still certainly liable.
April 08 2011 at 2:30 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplySo it'll just be our bad luck when another lithium ion battery causes a fire in the cargo hold of the flight we happen to be on?
April 08 2011 at 1:36 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWell, thats nice, now that they're on a roll with agreeing about stuff maybe they should be tackling the budget.
April 08 2011 at 12:13 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyHopefully this does not get past the Senate. A UPS 747 that crashed in Dubai was on fire—which started near improperly labeled Lithium batteries....
April 08 2011 at 12:10 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyImproperly labeled? You mean there were problems because the batteries weren't held to the appropriate, existing standards? Not to mention the fact that investigation seems to be still ongoing and statements about the cause of the crash state that the batteries MAY have been involved (in other words, we have no evidence to support their involvement, but it's technically possible so we're looking into it).
This bill would block regulations which go above and beyond the international standard requirements. I'm okay with that. How many billions of batteries are shipped worldwide each year? How many fires have been caused due to the batteries during those shipments?
According to documentation linked to through the original source (found at regulations.org):
"The PHMSA has provided no historical evidence of any aircraft accidents or damage, or any personal injuries or deaths, due to the transportation by air of litium ion batteries or products that contain them." (note - no accidents, no damage, no injuries, no death... nothing at all)
Translation - you're more likely to die because the jet fuel in the plane explodes than because of any problems with lithium ion batteries.
But hey, go ahead an shoot logic down and embrace unreasonable fears just because the consequences affect corporations and not people (also ignoring the fact that all corporations are made up solely of people.) While you're at it, consider calling your congressman and asking for a ban on jets carrying jet fuel.
The way you worded this article makes it completely unclear whether the legislation is going to enact the rules or not. I had to click through to the source to understand what was actually happening.
April 08 2011 at 12:06 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWhat he said. My 9 year could have explained that better.
April 08 2011 at 12:47 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyDeals of the Day
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