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Insurers highlight lithium battery risks

[ November 1, 2022   //   ]

Insurers TT Club and UK P&I Club have teamed up with scientific consultants, Brookes Bell in a white paper on the safety threat created by lithium-ion batteries.

It outlines the numerous challenges facing the transport industry and raises awareness of the potentially catastrophic situation that can be caused by battery failure. It aims to correct the widely held perception in the maritime community that the risks of such products are relatively small.

TT’s risk management director, Peregrine Storrs-Fox, said: “Recently, serious and sometimes catastrophic incidents involving lithium-ion batteries have become more commonplace, with fires reported in all modes of transport – ocean, air and land — as well as in warehouses and where such consignments are at rest.”

Loss prevention director of the UK P&I Club, Stuart Edmonston added:  “The consequences of battery failure and the resultant thermal runaway must be clearly understood and the correct procedures for handling them adhered to throughout their lifespan. The dangers can exist no matter the status of the battery; charged, semi-charged, used, second-hand or scrap, and whether present in devices and vehicles or packaged separately.”

The paper include the background science behind lithium-ion batteries, the dangers associated with transporting them and why they arise, such as insufficient testing and incorrect declaration. It also provides a review of current dangerous goods (DG) regulatory provisions, focusing on the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, with recommendations for change or further work. It also discusses the current state of the firefighting provision and changes that could be implemented.

The also put forward guidelines to help pre-empt dangerous incidents by correct classification and declaration, safe and effective packaging, mandatory markings and labelling, uniformity of regulations regarding testing and suitable storage environments while batteries are awaiting transport.

lithium-batteries-whitepaper.pdf (ukpandi.com)

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