Electrical Equipment / Components & Telecoms

In recent years, the transportation safety of lithium batteries has been pushed to the forefront.

Earlier this month, a fire broke out in Hong Kong’s Meiwang warehouse, which burned more than 1,000 square meters of warehouse and stored goods. According to relevant freight forwarders, the cause of the fire was batteries and built-in batteries.

After the incident, air transportation further strictly controlled the transportation of lithium batteries, and the shipping company could not sit still. ONE took the lead in issuing the relevant embargo notice.

Not one month ago, on April 11, when the air cargo from Hong Kong Airport to Bangkok was waiting to be installed, the mobile phone and accessories in the pallet suddenly caught fire. Hong Kong Cargo Airlines subsequently issued a statement to stop receiving all models of VIVO brand mobile phone freight business, and blacklisted two freight forwarding companies.

Recently, SITC, SITC International Shipping Company, issued a notice stating that Class 9/UN 3480, UN3481 lithium battery packs and other goods must be carried in a freezer to ensure the quality of battery cargo and transportation safety. Specifically: Freezers must be used for import and export at Southeast Asia ports throughout the year; from the north of Xiamen (including Xiamen) in China to Japan and South Korea, refrigerators must be used from May to November each year; refrigerators must be used from South China to Japan and South Korea throughout the year, and vice versa. If the customer specifies a freezer, the freezer must be used.

SITC is mainly involved in the shipping of container routes in Southeast Asia and Japan and South Korea. It is greatly affected by the summer temperature. During this period, the high temperature is often very easy to induce thermal reactions in the production of lithium batteries, which may further cause the combustion and explosion of lithium batteries.

SITC is the first shipping company that mandates the use of refrigerated containers for Class 9/UN3480 and UN3481 lithium battery transportation. It remains to be seen whether other shipping companies will follow up or request the same pick-up request in the future.

Previously, the use of refrigerated containers to transport lithium batteries was voluntarily proposed by the consignor. It was often used in high-end mobile devices or electric vehicles for internationally renowned companies in consideration of quality control requirements.

Lithium batteries belong to the 9th category of dangerous goods, and transportation control must be operated in a cold-dangerous way, which is more complicated and professional. In addition, due to the small source of freezer boxes, as well as the power configuration of ships' stowage and the equipment limitations of the port yard, the adjustment and transportation operations are more complicated, which greatly increases the difficulty and cost of related transportation.

As shipping companies and airlines continue to increase the transportation requirements of lithium batteries, it will increase the shipping costs of the shipper.

Having said that, are all batteries dangerous goods? Which standard batteries should be declared as dangerous goods?

What is dangerous goods?

According to the "List of Dangerous Goods" (GB12268-2012) and "Classification and Numbering of Dangerous Goods" (GB6944-2012), dangerous goods refer to dangerous properties such as explosion, flammability, poisoning, infection, corrosion, and radioactivity. Substances and articles that require special protection during transportation, storage, production, operation, use, and disposal that are likely to cause personal injury or death, property damage, or environmental pollution.

Dangerous goods include the substances and articles specified in the United Nations "Recommendation on the Transport of Dangerous Goods Model Regulations" (TDG, also known as the Orange Book), and the "Globally Harmonized Classification and Labeling System of Chemicals" (GHS, also known as the Purple Book) ) The definition of hazardous chemicals.

What are the common dangerous goods?

Pesticides, disinfectants, hand sanitizers, disinfectant wipes, lithium batteries, lead-acid batteries, matches, perfumes, and airbags are all dangerous goods.

How to determine whether batteries need to be declared as dangerous goods?

There are many types of batteries, and not all batteries are dangerous goods. Generally, a single battery has a power greater than 20WH and a battery pack is greater than 100WH, which is highly likely to be a dangerous product.

If the company believes that its goods are not dangerous goods based on the composition parameters of the battery, it can submit a dangerous goods appraisal report issued by a qualified laboratory for confirmation.

Little knowledge about batteries

1. The battery unit mAh means milliampere hour, and Wh means ampere hour. Battery capacity is one of the important performance indicators to measure battery performance. It represents the amount of electricity released by the battery under certain conditions (discharge rate, temperature, termination voltage, etc.), generally expressed in Ah (Ampere hour) or mAh (Milliamp hour) .

2. How much milliampere is 20WH written on the battery?

First of all, it depends on how many volts the battery voltage is. The 20WH written on the battery, if it is a single-cell lithium battery, and the voltage is 3.7V, it is 3.7V*5400mAH=20WH; if it is connected in series, it is 7.4V*2700mAH=20WH.

3. Supervision of battery import and export

According to Article 17 of the "Implementation Regulations of the Import and Export Commodity Inspection Law of the People's Republic of China", the export of batteries belonging to dangerous goods requires a dangerous package certificate. Imported batteries are basically imported goods under legal inspection. For legally inspected goods, they need to be inspected by the commodity inspection agency. You can refer to the "Announcement of the General Administration of Customs on Optimizing the Quality and Safety Inspection and Supervision Methods of Imported Goods such as Batteries".

4. Do air and sea transportation of dangerous goods require a dangerous package certificate?

Yes, it's just that the contents of air and sea inspections may be different.

5. Is the lithium battery built into the goods classified as dangerous goods?

It depends on the size of the lithium battery and the condition of the goods itself. It is best to do a third party appraisal first.