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Technical Assessment of Dry Ice Limits on Aircraft (2013)

Chapter: Chapter 5 - Review of Air Carrier Procedures for Shipments Containing Dry Ice

« Previous: Chapter 4 - Review of Aircraft Manufacturer Guidelines and Procedures
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Review of Air Carrier Procedures for Shipments Containing Dry Ice." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. Technical Assessment of Dry Ice Limits on Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22651.
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Review of Air Carrier Procedures for Shipments Containing Dry Ice." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. Technical Assessment of Dry Ice Limits on Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22651.
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Page 17
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Suggested Citation:"Chapter 5 - Review of Air Carrier Procedures for Shipments Containing Dry Ice." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2013. Technical Assessment of Dry Ice Limits on Aircraft. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/22651.
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Page 18

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16 C h a p t e r 5 Major air carriers were interviewed to ascertain their policies and procedures for shipments containing dry ice. Packaging Requirements for Air Shipments Containing Dry Ice General IATA packaging requirements were discussed in Chapter 3. It is possible for individual air carriers to impose additional packaging requirements. Procedures for the Tender of Dry-Ice–Containing Packages Packages Tendered by Companies and Shipping Agents Large shippers may tender cargos directly to airlines; smaller concerns often use shipping agents. In either case, the shipper prepares documents that describe the amount of dry ice. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the stated weight of dry ice may not be derived from an actual weight on a scale, but is often merely an estimate or is based on memory from pre- vious shipments and could vary from the actual tendered weight. Packages Tendered by Individuals On Passenger Aircraft Personal shipments containing dry ice may be carried on board aircraft as carry-on luggage or tendered as checked bag- gage. The shipments typically contain less than 2.5 kg (5.5 lbs) of dry ice, thereby avoiding the requirement to place a placard on the package. Carry-on luggage or checked bag- gage containing dry ice may or may not be required to be declared to the airline and the passenger may or may not actually make the required declaration; for both carry-on luggage and checked baggage, the air carrier depends on the customer to declare the presence and the quantity of dry ice contained in the package. In both cases, the quantity of dry ice accepted by an agent is not added to the hazardous material manifest given to the pilot so there is no way to account for the dry ice shipments received at check-in or transferred onto the plane as checked baggage unloaded from another plane.* However, the practicalities of air travel (the need to carry baggage and personal effects combined with limited onboard storage space) and the fees charged by some airlines for car- rying dry ice on board† will discourage many from carrying packages containing dry ice on board; overall, however, the amount of dry ice brought on board by passengers is not likely to be very significant. Assuming that at most 10% of passengers would have pack- ages that might contain dry ice, for a plane carrying 150 pas- sengers, there would be at most 15 packages, each containing 2.5 kg of dry ice, resulting in a total of 38 kg of dry ice that might be present on a large airplane. On Cargo Aircraft Shipments from individuals that contain dry ice might also be carried on all-cargo aircraft. However, due to U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) require- ments, the ability of individuals to ship packages directly via air freight is greatly restricted.‡ In fact, nearly all such Review of Air Carrier Procedures for Shipments Containing Dry Ice *It is also possible, but unlikely, that the last-minute placement of gate- checked luggage in the cargo compartment could result in additional dry ice in the cargo compartment. †Such fees range from $40 to $100 per package. ‡This discussion would also apply to individuals making a freight shipment with the air freight division of a passenger air carrier.

17 parcels are tendered to a package shipping firm such as UPS or FedEx. In this case, shipments containing less than 2.5 kg of dry ice are merely labeled as containing dry ice; shipments with more than this amount must be shipped as hazardous goods, with the amount of dry ice stated on the shipping documents. With regard to acceptance of a package containing dry ice for shipment on cargo aircraft at a storefront package ship- ping service location, we note that: • The store employees are generally not trained in handling hazardous materials, so they cannot accept any packages containing more than 2.5 kg of dry ice—the regulatory threshold for requiring a placard on the package; • They depend on the customer to declare the presence and quantity of dry ice in a package; and • The main materials shipped by individuals that are cooled with dry ice are specialty and gourmet foods such as ice cream, pizza, and steaks. Again, anecdotal evidence suggests that the stated amount of dry ice is often merely an estimate and could vary from the actual amount. Aircraft and Compartment Limits Each air carrier must establish limits on the amount of dry ice that can be carried on the aircraft and also for individual compartments. The current determination of limits varies somewhat among air carriers, but commonly, there is a sim- ple limit on the mass of dry ice that may be carried, either by compartment, for the aircraft as a whole, or both. These limits are generally based on assumptions about the sublimation rate of the dry ice and the ventilation capa- bilities of the aircraft. Air carriers may use either their own calculations or follow a calculation procedure suggested by the aircraft manufacturer. In either case, the air carrier has the final responsibility to ensure that the FAA guideline of 5,000-ppm carbon dioxide concentration for occupied spaces is met. In most cases these calculations are based on assumed mass-based sublimation rates. Some air carrier limits reported to Battelle during the course of this study are summarized in Table 5. In addition to aircraft limits, some carriers have established limits for indi- vidual compartments. While the examples listed do not show all the many air- frames operated by different carriers, it can be seen that the limits for the 737 vary from 82 kg to 400 kg. Clearly, different carriers are making different assumptions when establishing the carbon dioxide limits. Special Loading, Unloading, and Location Procedures In addition to overall limits on the mass of dry ice carried, some air carriers have special procedures. Considerations Related to Transport of Animals Many airlines have established specific procedures to ensure that if animals are being shipped, they are not exposed to high levels of carbon dioxide. The airlines may establish lower compartment limits for dry ice shipments, a prohibition of animals and dry ice in the same compartment, or, if there is more than one compartment on the aircraft, a requirement that either the animals or the dry ice be carried in a specific com- partment. Some airlines, notably Southwest Airlines, do not Airline Aircraft Aircraft Limit, kga Alaska Airways 737 737+ F 737F CRJ,Q400 82 318 500 200 Americanb 737 757 767 777 A300 MD80 CRJ, ERJ 400 544 590 680 907 600 23 FedEx 727 757 777 A300 A310 MD10/11 1,080 900 2,100 3,031 2,532 2,744 Southwestc 737 400 United/Continental narrow body wide body 114 200 Military Aircraft (according to TM 38-25032) C130 C135 KC10 C5 272 91 1,041 2,131 a For consistency, all limits have been converted to kg, even if they were originally stated in pounds. b The amount of dry ice carried on by passengers is tracked, but there is no specific limit. c The amount of dry ice carried on by passengers is not tracked. Table 5. Some air carrier limits for dry ice.

18 some carriers have procedures that call for waiting a period after opening the compartment before cargo handlers enter the compartment to unload the cargo. Location and Climate Likewise, some carriers have more stringent proce- dures for handling cargo with dry ice if the local climate is very hot. carry any animals in the cargo compartment. UPS carries some live animals but does not transport mammals. Unloading Air carriers recognize that situations may occur where unusually large amounts of dry ice are present in a cargo compartment and/or that the compartment has been with- out active ventilation for a period of time. If this is the case,

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TRB’s Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program (HMCRP) Report 11: Technical Assessment of Dry Ice Limits on Aircraft describes a technical approach to determining the maximum quantity of dry ice that may be safely carried aboard aircraft.

The report includes guidelines for helping to determine safe limits for carriage of dry ice on commercial airplanes and a CD-ROM-based software tool designed to assist in determining appropriate dry ice loadings. The CD-ROM is packaged with the print version of the report.

The CD-ROM is also available for download from TRB’s website as an ISO image. Links to the ISO image and instructions for burning a CD-ROM from an ISO image are provided below.

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