Revised content:

The 63^rd edition of the IATA Dangerous Goods Regulations incorporates all the amendments made by the IATA Dangerous Goods Committee and includes an addendum to the contents of the ICAO Technical Regulations 2021-2022 issued by the ICAO. The changes involving lithium batteries are summarized as follows.

• PI 965 and PI 968-revised, delete Chapter II from these two packaging guidelines. In order for the shipper to have time to adjust the lithium batteries and lithium batteries that were originally packaged in Section II to the package shipped in Section IB of 965 and 968, there will be a transition period of 3 months for this change until March 2022. Enforcement begins on March 31^st, 2022. During the transition period, the shipper can continue to use the packaging in Chapter II and transport lithium cells and lithium batteries.
• Correspondingly, 1.6.1, Special Provisions A334, 7.1.5.5.1, Table 9.1.A and Table 9.5.A have been revised to adapt to the deletion of section II of the packaging instructions PI965 and PI968.
• PI 966 and PI 969-revised the source documents to clarify the requirements for the use of packaging in Chapter I, as follows:

l Lithium cells or lithium batteries are packed in UN packing boxes, and then placed in a sturdy outer package together with the equipment;

l Or batteries or batteries are packed with the equipment in a UN packing box.

The packaging options in Chapter II have been deleted, because there is no requirement for UN standard packaging, only one option is available.

Comment:

It has been noticed that for this modification, many industry professionals have focused on the deletion of Chapter II of PI965 & PI968, while ignoring the description of the packaging requirements of Chapter I of PI 966 & PI969. According to the author’s experience, few customers use PI965 & PI968 Chapter II to transport goods. This method is not suitable for bulk transportation of goods, so the impact of deleting this chapter is limited.

However, the description of the packaging method in Chapter I of PI66 & PI969 can give customers a more cost-saving choice: if the battery and equipment are packed in a UN box, it will be larger than a box that only packs the battery in the UN box, and the cost will naturally be higher. Previously, customers basically used batteries and equipment packed in a UN box. Now they can use a small UN box to pack the battery, and then pack the equipment in a non-UN strong outer packaging.

Reminder:

Lithium-ion handling tags will only use 100X100mm tags after January 1, 2022.