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Mailing lithium batteries from overseas hack!

kelbro

Alfred Spatchcock
Properly manifested, I believe that they secure them in a stainless container. It might even have fire suppression in it if I understood the pilot correctly.
 
Basically, when it comes to shipping these things, there is nothing short of radiologicals that requires more robust packaging and labelling to ensure safety in transit.

If you picture a package of batteries that you'd see at your local supermarket checkout, each one of those packages would have to be individually cushioned against damage, then separated from all the others by a solid divider of some sort. There are quantity limits on how many individual packages within each "overpack" are permitted, and the labelling of those overpacks is quite extensive, as well.

Just as an example, though I despise UPS, their packing instructions for Lithium batteries (of all types), runs to 12 pages. Airlines of ALL types take these things very seriously.
 
Properly manifested, I believe that they secure them in a stainless container. It might even have fire suppression in it if I understood the pilot correctly.
Good to know that keeping a pallet of batteries in a stainless container should be the normal procedure. A few articles about MH370 seemed to imply that the cargo hold area was a whole was relying on a fire suppression system, but that maybe it would not be enough to protect against noxious fumes. Let us hope that the airlines and shipping companies are following good practices.
 

Chandu

I Waxed The Badger.
I had breakfast a couple of weeks ago with a FedEx pilot that had a lithium battery fire in the cargo hold of his plane.

Doubt that he would be amused.

You can still ship lithium batteries, they just ned to be shipped and declared correctly.
Price Price Price. Safety be damned. I want it cheap and I want it now!

Shipping rules usually exist for valid reasons.
 
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