IATA Posts Addendum II to the 57th Edition DGR

On February 26, IATA officially issued Addendum II to its 57^th edition Dangerous Goods Regulations (DGR), the manual used by hazmat/dangerous goods air shippers around the world. 

In essence, the Addendum II comprises changes to the rules for shipping lithium batteries that will go into effect April 1, including a prohibition on lithium-ion batteries as cargo on passenger aircraft approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) earlier this week.

Shippers may remember that Addendum I to the 57^th ed. DGR, posted by IATA on January 19, included major changes for lithium batteries as well, including a limit on state-of-charge (30%) for lithium batteries shipped by air and new restrictions for small (“Section II”) lithium batteries.

See the full Addendum II to the 57th edition DGR here. The same changes to lithium battery shipping rules are also spelled out in ICAO's latest addendum (#4) to its Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods. 

Shipping Lithium Batteries by Air

In addition to the passenger aircraft cargo ban, the following new requirements will apply to lithium batteries shipped by air as of April 1:

• A shipper will not be permitted to offer for transport more than one (1) package of Section II lithium batteries in a single consignment. 
• No more than one Section II package may be placed in an overpack.
• Packages and overpacks of Section II lithium batteries must be offered to the operator separately from cargo not subject to DGR instructions and must not be loaded into a unit load device being offered to the operator.

Revised State and Operator Variations

IATA’s latest DGR addendum also includes some changes to state and operator variations, which shippers should review. Among operators who’ve added new restrictions or revised their rules for accepting air shipments are:

• American Airlines (AA)
• Air Canada (AC)
• airBaltic (BT)
• Air China (CA)
• Korean Airlines (KE)
• Deutsche Lufthansa/Lufthansa Cargo AG (LH)
• Jazz Aviation (QK)
• Air Canada Rouge (RV)
• Turkish Airlines (TK)
• Air Austral (UU)
• Air Tahiti (VT)

 
Prepare for the April 1 Deadline!

Get up to speed on the latest rules for shipping lithium batteries by ground, air, and vessel.  The live, expert-led Shipping Lithium Batteries Webinar is designed to get you up to speed on the latest rules, and satisfy US DOT’s “function-specific” training requirement for hazmat employees who prepare lithium battery shipments.  Don’t risk noncompliance when the new rules take effect—join us on March 10, from 1-3 PM for the next session!     

Tags: hazmat, IATA, lithium batteries, new rules, shipping