Federal regulators have turned down a request by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) to prohibit cargo shipments of lithium batteries.

Instead, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) sent a warning to cargo shippers that the government intends to step up enforcement of hazardous materials regulations, especially those that apply to lithium batteries and devices containing the batteries.

PHMSA is particularly concerned with undeclared shipments of lithium batteries and will bring enforcement action against those responsible for offering them in transportation.

"This advisory puts all shippers on notice that non-compliance with the safety regulations is not acceptable," said DOT Secretary Ray LaHood. "I have asked the department's enforcement personnel to increase their inspections and step up enforcement where necessary."

Since 1991, more than 40 air transport-related incidents involving lithium batteries and devices powered by lithium batteries have been identified. Many of these incidents were directly related to the lack of awareness of the regulations, risks and required safety measures applicable to the shipment of lithium batteries.

ALPA says "the current rules are inadequate to prevent onboard fires and safeguard passengers and crews. An immediate temporary ban on lithium battery shipments on airliners must be enacted and enforced until safety regulations are in place.

"Urging shippers to comply with inadequate regulations won't protect the flying public from fire risk posed by lithium battery shipments," said Capt. John Prater, ALPA's president. "Despite the recent incidents of fires on board airliners, lithium batteries aren't treated like other dangerous goods, and regulations don't exist to ensure that training, packaging, labeling, testing, and pilot notification meet the standards necessary for their safe transport."

The union in August sent a letter to PHMSA calling for a ban. The union said it was alarmed by an increase in incidents in which shipments containing the batteries caught fire.

First Officer Mark Rogers, director of ALPA's Dangerous Goods Programs, said "the evidence of a clear and present danger is mounting. We need an immediate ban on these dangerous goods to protect airline passengers, crews, and cargo."

Rogers said fire, smoke, or evidence of fire associated with battery shipments has occurred recently aboard three separate U.S. airliners.

The incidents, which took place in Minneapolis/Saint Paul, MN, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and Honolulu, HI, were similar to a 2006 fire aboard a DC-8 in Philadelphia, PA. In that accident, the fire was severe and it prompted the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) to recommend the full regulation of these types of batteries as dangerous goods.

United Parcel Service Flight 1307, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-71F, made an emergency landing at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) on Feb. 7, 2006 after the flight deck crew detected smoke in the cargo hold, which intensified as the plane descended.

The freighter landed safely and the crew escaped with minor injuries, but the aircraft and most of the cargo were destroyed by fire after landing. Of concern is whether lithium batteries being carried as cargo onboard the UPS all-cargo plane played a key role in the in-flight fire.

The NTSB recommends that the FAA require that all-cargo airplanes operating under Part 121 Regulations carry fire suppression systems, in addition to the current smoke and fire detectors.

The Safety Board's final report determined that the probable cause of the non-fatal accident was an in-flight fire that initiated from an unknown source within one of the containers in the main cargo compartment.

The report concluded that the threat from cargo fires could be mitigated on all-cargo aircraft by the installation of fire suppression systems, which are only mandated for cargo holds of commercial passenger transports.

The NTSB said that given the length of time that the fire burned and the resulting destruction of potentially helpful evidence, the post-fire condition of the cargo containers and contents and the surrounding airplane structure provided no evidence that indicated what initiated the fire.

But the investigation revealed that several electronic devices containing secondary lithium batteries were onboard the airplane. The lack of information about the batteries (the subject of recent safety recalls) prevented any determination of whether these batteries were the source of the on-board cargo hold fire.

Lithium batteries provide essential power for millions of Americans every day as they use laptop computers, cell phones, flashlights, and cameras. ALPA is not calling for new restrictions on what passengers are permitted to bring aboard aircraft, but the pilot's union is concerned about the risk from transporting lithium batteries aboard aircraft as cargo.