The US Postal Service is launching new standards for the mailing of lithium batteries, to expand requirements for the mailing of hazardous, restricted, and perishable materials.
These revisions will bring the Postal Service in line with recent changes made by the Department of Transportation (DOT), Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for the transportation of lithium batteries.
These changes include the:
- Use of separate shipping descriptions for both lithium metal and lithium-ion batteries;
- Use of terminology to describe lithium content with watt-hours for lithium-ion batteries and cells;
- New obligations for the transport of small lithium batteries and cells contained in equipment; and
- New marking requirements and options for lithium batteries installed in equipment packaged with equipment and shipped without equipment.
The new requirements come into effect on March 2, 2015.
If you have any questions on this change, or on the transport of hazardous materials anywhere in the world, why don’t you Ask Our Experts?!