Gadgets using lithium to be barred from overseas shipments

STars and Stripes ^ | May 11, 2012 | By ERIK SLAVIN AND STEVEN BEARDSLEY

[muawiyah]

The lithium batteries you want to ship MUST ALSO meet the IATA standards as set forth in: http://www.iata.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/Documents/GuidanceDocumentontheTransportofLiBatt_2010.pdf ~ if you want to ship them by air. That usually involves pulling the batteries out of the device and wapping them separately from the device as instructed.

[razorback-bert]

Guess this means you can’t ship a Dolt..

[TXnMA]

"Many small lights and interments use lithium button cells."

Electronic burials of midgets????

[ops33]

What’s the deal with Lithium batteries? Article doesn’t say why they were banned in the first place. TSA also doesn’t allow loose lithium batteries in carry on.

[DUMBGRUNT]

instrument
Noun
A device ...

interment
Noun
The burial of a corpse in a grave or tomb, typically with funeral rites.

Maybe I should turn off Auto-Correct and wear my glasses?

That’s like work!

I’m retired¿!

[RetroSexual]

UPS and FedEx aren't carrying these items either.

If you order a new iPhone, iPad or laptop from Apple, you can track the shipment from the factory in China to your front door via FedEx. I'm sure they're carrying tens of thousands of those batteries each day.

An aside: it's fascinating to watch the precision with which the package moves around the globe. I'd be challenged to get my body from home to a specific point in China in less than a day, but FedEx does it routinely with packages.

[muawiyah]

it's a trick they play with airplanes. i know, not everybody knows about them.......,

The batteries still have to packed according to IATA rules, and there are quantities limited for devices shipped in bulk.

[TXnMA]

Yep, FedEx and UPS tracking is pretty amazing.

BTW, the article gives the secret for shipping Li-ion batteries:Do not charge them! Only those with a near-full charge have the power to explode and cause firesl Besides, when they are installed in a device, there is little likelihood of them getting against something and shorting (and causing a fire).

Shipping them fully-charged -- in bulk -- is invitation to disaster!

~~~~~~~

Apple rcently shipped to me (@ no charge) a replacement for the three-year old battery in my MacBook Pro. The instructions included, "Charge fully before using..."

[muawiyah]

There you go ~ although there have been discussions about batteries going on for decades (the earliest ones being little more than poorly sealed acid baths). Having to work on questions of hazmat gave me plenty of time to consider those discussions.

The law is pretty clear ~ you cause it you own it. So if you ship a fully charged battery of any kind without totally following the hazmat rules and it does something that injures an employee in the supply chain ~ whether that's UPS, FedEx, USPS or somebody else you can be liable for just all sorts of things.

The lithium batteries are just one more in a series of troublesome devices.

I'm not sure I'd trust a fully charged lithium battery coming in the mail at my house if it originated in China. No way to know who packed it for one thing.

I don't bring their fireworks indoors either!