FAA investigating e-cigarette companies about batteries

[Bill Godshall]

At least two special agents (named Anthony Farrow and Bob Howard) from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) have contacted at least two e-cigarette companies (both in Arizona) this week inquiring about their importation of batteries used in e-cigarettes. The agents were/are inquiring if the e-cigarette batteries imported by the companies were in compliance with United Nations (UN) battery standards.

I have no idea why the FAA is conducting this investigation, or if the FAA is only focussing on e-cigarette batteries (as thousands of other imported products use batteries).

And I don't know what the UN battery standard is (and neither did the two e-cigarette companies that FAA contacted).

If anyone else has more information about this, please post.

I didn't know what ECF thread to post this on, so I did it here.

 

[FAAmecanic]

Hummm.. I would assume they are looking into the likelyhood and information on could the batteries rupture in unpressurized/low pressurized areas of aircraft. And if a leak happens, what would be the result. For example would they leak acid/base material and what would that do to aircraft metal, or could they create a exothermic reaction leading to possible explosion and if so how strong of an explosion.

At least thats what they will say they are looking at.... funny but batteries used in E cigs are no different than modern digital camera batteries.

Oh and Im not from the FAA... even though its in my name... Im just a aircraft mechanic.

 

[Killjoy1]

This is all I could find about any UN standard, which applies to the testing of batteries, not sure if it applies to the above post or not: http://phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PH..._Test_Manual_Lithium_Battery_Requirements.pdf

I found a couple of databases with a long list of existing battery standards, but none of them included UN

 

[trying]

Back in 2009 there was a fire on a Fed-Ex plane that was caused by a shipment of Ruyan E-cigarettes.

 

[FAAmecanic]

Interesting..... I was thinking more along the line of the Valujet that went down in FL due to oxygen generators in the cargo hold not being packed/prepped properly. A bit extreme I know.

 

[Eddie.Willers]

Looks to me like the Gubbmint is authorizing its alphabet-soup agencies to get creative in their ways to demonize e-cigs!

 

[cgchad]

A cursory check for li ion battery transportation and UN standards came up with this example.

http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/offerings/industries/hightech/batteries/untest/

I am getting better at using this tablet lol


Sent from my Velocity Cruz using Tapatalk

 

[kanadiankat]

If you get ahold of your supplier you can probably find out if their battery supplier has the proper compliance forms and have them forward those to you.

Not sure how your law in the US applies to imports - in Canada, the importer assumes the liabilities of the manufacturer - but the manufacturer needs the creds for compliance standards. The importer does need access to these for provincial regulation (but not federal).

As you don't manufacture the batteries you wouldn't have the creds personally - just copies of them from the manufacturer.

Might be a good idea to contact whoever your state authority is for electronic regulations and ask them to clarify what is required and how to respond to the FAA.

Would also appreciate if you took a few moments to share the results. It would be good to know if there is an international component to these regulations that the rest of us should be following.

 

[Bill Godshall]

A third e-cigarette company owner informed me that FAA agents also visited him and asked to see the UN certificate indicating that his batteries complied with UN standards.

The UN battery standards are at:
http://www.mpoweruk.com/papers/UN_Regs.pdf

Despite virtually no evidence that e-cigarette batteries pose safety risks during air transport, it appears that the FAA (perhaps at the urging of FDA) is trying to reduce imports of e-cigarette batteries (and e-cigarette products that contain batteries) into the US by harassing e-cigarette companies and perhaps air carriers.

It appears that many/most e-cigarette batteries comply with UN standards, but the law requires that all battery manafacturers obtain UN certificates, and it appears that the FAA is enforcing that latter provision.

 

[TonyTT]

Hummm.. I would assume they are looking into the likelyhood and information on could the batteries rupture in unpressurized/low pressurized areas of aircraft. And if a leak happens, what would be the result. For example would they leak acid/base material and what would that do to aircraft metal, or could they create a exothermic reaction leading to possible explosion and if so how strong of an explosion.

At least thats what they will say they are looking at.... funny but batteries used in E cigs are no different than modern digital camera batteries.

Oh and Im not from the FAA... even though its in my name... Im just a aircraft mechanic.

A likely story......but why would you put in your name unless your part of the FAA...but why would an FAA official be so obvious about it...unless your being obvious as to throw of suspicion...oh you're good

 

[Saug335]

A woman from the FAA also came into my shop asking for information on the batteries on Saturday. She said they were worried about the batteries causing fires on aircraft. Supposedly there has been a few cases of a Fedex or UPS plane where the aircraft went down due to a fire caused from the batteries. I believe she also mentioned that they are looking for passengers to have the batteries in their possession instead of in their luggage, which I don't mind at all personally.

 

[Bill Godshall]

These actions by the FAA could cause a temporary shortage of e-cigarette batteries, which is likely to increase the price of the batteries and e-cigarette products that come with batteries.

The e-cigarette products that could be most impacted by this are new disposable e-cigarettes (that contain disposable batteries).

 

[Vocalek]

I wouldn't think that the FAA would have jurisdiction over batteries after they arrive in the ultimate retail location. When the batteries are exported from the manufacturer in China to another country, they are accompanied by a stack of paperwork. Chances are good that the UN certification FAA is asking about is in that stack. If your store receives shipments direct from China, hold on to those papers so you can hand them to the FAA investigator.

If you don't actually import the batteries from overseas, that's a valid answer to the FAA. You have nothing to do with batteries taking a ride on an airplane. Tell them to go ask your U.S. suppliers about their import and shipping practices.

 

[throatkick]

I'm all for safety and think it's a good thing to look into the safety of batteries. On the other hand, are they going about this the right way? Their efforts seem misplaced.

 

[Playa_hamm420]

I'm all for safety and think it's a good thing to look into the safety of batteries. On the other hand, are they going about this the right way? Their efforts seem misplaced.

As Opposed to any other .GOV agency ??? Everything the GOV does is misplaced in 1 way shape or form.

 

[Myriad Dark]

These tests all look like a fairly standard part of the R&D phase of any electrical product pre-production. I doubt there should be any issue since the test quantities are small and the testing procedures relatively standard. The only one that concerns me any is the wording for test 6 since there are stories and pictures of what can happen when cell shorts for an extended time, but catastrophic failure is a possibility in almost any battery. I suspect this is just another example of a gov agency piling on extra investigations to satisfy the department of redundancy department.

 

[Bill Godshall]

Virtually all (perhaps all) e-cigarette batteries comply with the UN standards. But the FAA is investigating the lack of a UN certificate by some e-cigarette importers/shippers/vendors.

The UN standard delineates the technical requirements for the batteries, but not the legal requirements for manufacturers, importers, shippers or vendors.

I've been told that the shipper (UPS, FedEx, USPS, etc) is ultimately responsible for obtaining the UN battery certificate (before the product is shipped via air), but that doesn't explain why FAA agents have been visiting vendors.

The industry needs to quickly find out who is responsible for conducting the battery tests and obtaining the UN certificate (e.g manufacturer, importer), and who is responsible for obtaining/maintaining a copy of the certificate(s) for each shipment (e.g. importer, shipper, vendor).

 

[TUC]

Interesting..... I was thinking more along the line of the Valujet that went down in FL due to oxygen generators in the cargo hold not being packed/prepped properly. A bit extreme I know.

Wow, that was a long time ago!

 

[wfx]

very interesting development. and it speaks volumes about rapid ecig market expansion.

although it may seem like harassment, especially on an individual case basis, battery import and safety controls strike me as a good thing. on multiple levels.

you can't ban batteries. or wire coils and nicotine for that matter. but as pointed out the end user costs can be arbitrarily inflated.

 

[Bill Godshall]

An e-cigarette compay owner informed me that the FAA is not just targetting e-cigarette batteries, but rather many products that contain batteries and are shipped via air.