The shutdown of US 95 on Tuesday has showcased the need for legislation surrounding the transportation of lithium ion batteries.
According to ABC 13, the September 17th accident forced the closure of US 95 outside of Las Vegas from about 12 a.m. until just before 6:30 p.m. – a considerably shorter closure than the I-15 accident in California back in July that resulted in “thermal runaway” and shut down the roadway for 44 hours.
Now, Nevada Congresswoman Dina Titus has proposed legislation intended to reduce the number of ‘thermal runaway’ fires caused by the transportation of lithium ion batteries.
“[Tuesday’s] accident and fire on U.S. 95 involving a truck carrying lithium-ion batteries underscores the urgency for Congress to act on the ‘Thermal Runaway Reduction Act’, legislation I introduced last week in response to a similar accident on Interstate 15 in July. Without better regulation of the transport of these batteries, it is only a matter of time before these accidents and resulting fires take human lives. Furthermore, the resulting road closures and the amount of water needed to extinguish these fires have significant impacts on resources in our region. Congress needs to act quickly to enact live-saving regulations,” Titus said to 8 News Now.
“The disaster on Interstate 15 was a wake-up call that we need to do more to protect the public from dangerous fires related to the transport of lithium ion batteries,” Congresswoman Titus said in a press release. “An accident such as the one on Interstate 15 can result in ‘thermal runaway,’ when a battery enters an uncontrollable, self-heating state, which makes fires extremely difficult to extinguish.
“As more lithium ion batteries are transported through our state and across the nation, we need to take additional precautions. An accident involving these batteries in highly populated urban areas could have tragic consequences.”
According to the press release, “the “Thermal Runaway Reduction Act” focuses on ways to reduce the potential for thermal runaway during the transportation of lithium-ion batteries by doing the following: Requiring impact testing for lithium-ion batteries that accounts for forces experienced in transportation accidents; and requiring the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to issue regulations that set a maximum state of charge of 30% for lithium-ion batteries set for ground transportation, similar to what is required for air transportation.”
