An EPA webinar to be held on March 12 will focus on best practices for and challenges when responding to lithium-ion battery fires. According to the agency, the two-hour session will cover the hazards of lithium-ion batteries, the types of incidents that may occur, and transportation and disposal challenges that can be expected during the remediation of lithium-ion battery incidents. The webinar is part of a series hosted by EPA on oil spill prevention and chemical emergency preparedness regulations, primarily for tribal audiences. The series is intended to help tribal communities understand their role in preparing for and preventing environmental emergencies from incidents like oil discharges or chemical accidents. Details on how to join the free webinar are available on EPA’s website.A fact sheet published by OSHA in January explains that the lithium cells in these batteries “[convert] chemical potential energy into electrical energy using lithium ions or lithium metal.” The fact sheet also outlines potential hazards presented by lithium-ion batteries, including hazards created during thermal runaway, a reaction that can be caused by battery manufacturing defects, mechanical damage to a battery, exposing a battery to excessive heat or cold, or improperly charging a battery. OSHA describes thermal runaway as “a chain reaction where the heat released from the failure of one cell damages nearby cells,” and says that this type of reaction is possible because lithium-ion batteries contain a flammable electrolyte and store a “significant amount” of energy. Fires caused by thermal runaway can produce hydrogen fluoride, hydrogen chloride, carbon monoxide, and other hazardous chemicals and particulates, the agency notes.
Learn more about EPA’s upcoming webinar on its website. OSHA’s fact sheet on lithium-ion battery safety is available as a PDF.
EPA has extended the deadline for the agency to receive comments on its recently proposed rule regulating C.I. Pigment Violet 29 (PV29). Originally due Feb. 28, comments must now be submitted on or before April 29.PV29 has industrial, commercial, and consumer applications. It is used as an intermediate to create or adjust color in other perylene pigments, in paints and coatings used by the automobile industry, in plastic and rubber products in cars and industrial carpets, in merchant ink, and in watercolors and acrylic paints for consumers.
EPA finalized a risk evaluation of PV29 in 2021 that determined it presents risks of lung toxicity. The proposed rule would require respiratory protection for workers and other potentially exposed persons where PV29 is present as a dry powder. The respirators must have a minimum assigned protection factor of 50. The rule also contains requirements for employers to implement a cleaning plan for equipment and areas where PV29 has been manufactured, processed, used, or disposed of, with cleaning conducted within 24 hours.
In addition to these proposed regulatory actions, EPA is required by the Toxic Substances Control Act to present a primary alternative regulatory action, which in the case of PV29 is engineering controls. Under this alternative, workplace air monitoring would be required every three months when PV29 is manufactured or in use.
EPA invites comments on both the proposed and primary alternative regulatory actions by April 29. For more information, read the proposed rule and the notice extending the comment period in the Federal Register. More information about risk management for PV29 is available from the EPA website.
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) successfully concluded its inaugural World Data Symposium (WDS) with a broad consensus on three key priorities:
- To use data even more intensely to derive value: With improvements in artificial intelligence and predictive analytics, the contribution of aviation’s rich data collection will drive improvements in efficiency, passenger experience, and sustainability. The industry needs to work together to address the opportunity by establishing clear data ownership structures, investing in new solutions and attracting talent.
- To innovate by integrating technology solutions: Innovations such as cloud computing, automation, and digital identity are proving their value in improving efficiency while reducing costs. The industry needs to work together to modernize standards and optimize this potential by integrating solutions so that the passenger journey is seamless, from booking to baggage delivery.
- To build cyber resilience: The need for robust cybersecurity grows in tandem with the use of technology, particularly as it integrates various players in the travel and air cargo value chains. The industry must work together to share information even more efficiently to protect critical infrastructure, ensure data integrity, and safeguard passenger trust.
“The inaugural IATA WDS reinforced the critical role of data, technology, and cybersecurity in shaping the future of aviation. It also clearly demonstrated that by working together across the aviation value chain to share information and modernize standards, we create enormous potential to benefit our customers with even more efficient travel and shipping experiences. This was our first WDS, but with so much potential evolving every day, it will not be our last,” said Kim Macaulay, IATA’s Chief Information and Data Officer.WDS was hosted by Aer Lingus in Dublin and welcomed more than 700 participants.
Reflecting the focus areas of WDS—data, technology and cybersecurity—IATA unveiled the results of three proof-of-concept (PoC) programs worked on with companies that are part of IATA’s Strategic Partnerships Program:
Cargo Acceptance Process: The PoC demonstrated the efficiency of using a large language model (LLM) to manage regulatory compliance in the air cargo acceptance process. It also delivered broader benefits in terms of reduced waste, optimization of cargo space, improved customer satisfaction and reduced waste/loss. More broadly, the PoC showed how LLMs have the potential to support regulatory compliance in the air transport industry.
Agency Onboarding: This PoC looked at how the use of digital identity can reduce the time and effort needed to onboard new agents while reducing the potential for fraud. By implementing agency digital employee IDs, the onboarding process can be automated, linking agency profiles with agent access seamlessly. This framework will ensure secure and reliable identity verification, significantly reducing the time and effort for onboarding from seven business days to seven seconds.
Passenger Entitlements: This PoC looked at how digital identity credentials (stored as virtual credentials in a digital wallet on their mobile phone) for travelers could be combined to automate processes such as lounge and onboard access. This will consider the passenger identity, class of travel, loyalty program entitlements and ancillary purchases. While it is expected to take some time to accustom travelers to using digital identity credentials, there is tremendous potential to simplify regulatory passport and other identity checks.
“From optimizing cargo processes to strengthening identity management and enhancing passenger experience, AI and digital identity are already transforming key processes in aviation. Through IATA’s Data and Technology Proof of Concept program we are collaborating across the industry to think and explore as big as possible about how all airlines, travelers and shippers can gain the most from applying AI and digital identity to common processes,” said Macaulay.
Full details are available in the PoC paper.
WDS was preceded by a data hackathon, with the winners announced on 27 February 2025.
A new animated video from the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) depicts the events that led to a release of propylene and subsequent explosion at the Watson Grinding and Manufacturing Company facility in Houston, Texas. The incident on Jan. 24, 2020, killed two workers and a member of the public and resulted in damage to more than 450 homes and buildings in the surrounding neighborhood.Workers at the Watson facility performed high velocity oxygen fuel coating, which involves the use of propylene, a highly flammable gas. A CSB final report found that on the night before the incident, a degraded, poorly crimped rubber hose became disconnected from a fitting inside a coating booth. By the next morning, an explosive concentration of gas had accumulated inside the building and probably ignited when a worker arriving for the day turned on the lights.
Among other shortcomings, the facility’s automated system for detecting leaks, sounding alarms, and starting exhaust ventilation had been disconnected years earlier, CSB found. Additionally, shutoff valves at the propylene storage tank had been left open the previous day. CSB determined that Watson did not conduct a hazard analysis of the propylene gas system and did not train its employees on how to respond to a propylene leak.
The CSB video is available on YouTube. For more information, read the agency’s final report (PDF).
Recommendations made by the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) 13th Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP) meeting at ICAO Headquarters from 17 to 28 February mark a clear sign of progress towards sustainable aviation. A total of 31 recommendations were made by the committee which established a methodology on monitoring and reporting CO2 emissions reductions against the ICAO long term global aspirational goal, proposed more stringent aircraft noise and CO2 emissions standards, and made progress on non-CO2 emissions, climate adaptation, airports, operations, fuels and CORSIA. Together these advancements will lay the technical foundation needed to continue to transform the sector's environmental commitments into concrete actions.
The Committee's adoption of the first ever global system to track progress towards the Long Term Global Aspirational Goal (LTAG) of net zero carbon emissions marked a pivotal development. With the creation of a robust monitoring and reporting methodology, this new framework provides a standardized global approach to measure aviation's progress on decarbonization, enabling transparent and informed decision-making across the sector.
"This monitoring framework transforms our net-zero commitment from aspiration to actionable reality," said ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano. "We now have the tools to measure progress and adjust our course as needed."
The Committee's work on sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) will accelerate the certification of new sustainable fuel pathways, which are critical for achieving the sector's vision of 5% CO₂ emissions reduction through cleaner energies by 2030, as agreed at the Third Conference on Aviation and Alternative Fuels (CAAF/3) in 2023.
The establishment of more stringent noise and CO2 standards represents the first time both standards have been made more stringent simultaneously for aviation. The intent is to shape the next generation of aircraft designs by moving manufacturers toward solutions that address these closely related environmental impacts.
The outcomes of CAEP/13 will be considered by the ICAO Council and will inform crucial global policy decisions at the 42nd Session of the ICAO Assembly in October 2025, strengthening the foundation for aviation's sustainable transformation for decades to come.
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