PHMSA 24-12 
Monday, December 31, 2012 

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has issued a final rule that maintains alignment with international hazmat transportation standards and issued a notice requesting comments about the transport of lithium batteries. 

HM-215L revises the regulations to maintain alignment with international transportation standards. The primary benefit of harmonizing the HMR is that it reduces regulatory compliance costs faced by U.S. companies and facilitates international commerce. The changes impact shipping names, hazard classes, packing groups, special provisions, packaging authorizations, air transport quantity limitations and vessel stowage requirements. 

This action ensures the continued transportation of hazardous materials in international commerce by aircraft and vessel when these international standards become effective on January 1, 2013. The net benefits of the final rule are estimated to be $62 million per year. 

PHMSA seeks public input on HM-224F, the Transportation of Lithium Batteries, to determine whether the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements for the air transport of lithium cells and batteries, which were incorporated in HM-215L, should be applied to domestic flights. HM-215L and HM-224 have been submitted to the Federal Register for display and publication. They are currently available to the right of this article. 

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration develops and enforces regulations for the safe, reliable, and environmentally sound operation of the nation's 2.6 million mile pipeline transportation system and the nearly 1 million daily shipments of hazardous materials by land, sea, and air. Please visit #### for more information.