are rechargeable lithium batteries the next threat to flier safety?

American Airlines flight attendants have confiscated 58 mobile phones for fear of a possible terrorist attack.
On June 23, a passenger flew to the Argentine capital on a New York flight with ion batteries and charging devices.
On April, Tokyo police and fire officials arrived at the baggage area at Narita airport. Earlier, a lithium-powered curling machine was burning at Narita airport.
Ion batteries caused a passenger\'s checked baggage to catch fire while flying from an American Airlines jet to a connecting flight. Lithium-ion batteries -
Rechargeable energy for mobile phones, laptops and more other portable electronic devices
Airlines are paying more and more attention to cabins and cargo spaces. Non-
Rechargeable lithium metal batteries like cameras and flashlights are also a concern.
When the lithium battery is short
Circuit or overheating, fire or explosion.
The fire it causes may not be as easy to put out as an ordinary burning fire.
Information from the Federal Aviation Administration shows the month from March 20-8, 1991.
3, 2010, battery and battery-
Power equipment was involved in 113 incidents of \"smoke, fire, extreme heat or explosion\" on passenger and cargo aircraft.
Data for lithium and non-lithium
Lithium batteries are not a complete list of such incidents, the agency said.
In January, the Transportation Department put forward stricter regulations on companies transporting lithium batteries in cargo tanks.
\"The frequency of the incident, coupled with the difficulty of extinguishing lithium --
The representative said that the battery was on fire and strong action was guaranteed.
Jerry CostelloIll.
The chairman of the house air subcommittee spoke about the proposal by the Department of Transport. Lithium-
However, battery experts, safety analysts and flight attendants would like to know if more stringent rules are also needed for airline cabins to prevent fires or worse: the terrorists may have tried to shoot down the plane by manipulating a large number of batteries to cause a fire.
Now, there is no limit to how many small lithium
Passengers can take ion batteries carried by plane.
Kristin Lee, spokesman for the Traffic Safety Administration, said the agency had studied the matter.
TSA, who is in charge of aviation safety, identified lithium-
Ion batteries for mobile phones, laptops and cameras \"cannot be used as explosives and are not a security threat that individuals carry with them --on quantities.
\"But some scientists who study batteries have raised doubts about the safety of passengers boarding on electronic devices, even those who are as small as mobile phones.
Xie Jian, professor of mechanical engineering, Indiana University
Purdue University-
Indianapolis says portable electronic devices are \"very safe\" for consumers \".
But, he said, they could be assembled together into a bomb.
This is what American Airlines flight attendants are worried about on their flight to Argentina on June.
The passenger, who had been in the toilet for more than 30 minutes and was suspicious earlier in the flight, began to remove the battery from his mobile phone and had many batteries, cell phones and charging devices on the tray table.
The flight attendant reported his actions to the captain and was told to confiscate the equipment.
Thank you for making lithium.
According to the military\'s Ion battery research, a passenger with about 50 electronic devices, including many lithium-
Ion batteries from mobile phones and laptops boarded the plane.
\"I was very uncomfortable in that flight,\" he said . \"
Amy Prieto, a professor of chemistry at Colorado State University, is also lithium-
Battery experts say several batteries could cause fires that are hard to put out.
But, she said, even if 50 batteries were put together, \"it wouldn\'t shoot down the plane like a bomb.
Dan Abraham, a material scientist at the Argonne National Laboratory in Illinois, said even a cell phone battery could cause a fire.
\"A smart terrorist can use these things to trigger a fire,\" he said . \". ``Any energy-
Storage devices store a lot of energy in a small space that can be used for good or evil.
\"Former FAA safety director Julie Vincent said TSA security personnel need to use common sense and call the supervisor when they see a passenger with many batteries and electronic devices.
\"Why is someone carrying so many batteries? Said Vincent.
\"If the batteries in the cargo hold need special packaging, why is there no special precautions in the cabin?
\"Dinkar Mokadam of the Flight Attendants Association, representing more than 50,000 flight attendants from 22 airlines, said a rule should be put in place to limit the number of devices passengers carry with them.
Unless something catastrophic happens, he said, the provisions will not be implemented.
Spokesman Tim Smith said that despite the incident of June, American Airlines has not taken a public position on the number of batteries that passengers can carry.
However, Smith said the crew on the Buenos flight did exactly what they had trained.
He said they observed suspicious behavior and acted by confiscating the passenger\'s cell phone and battery.
The equipment was handed over to the \"Argentine authorities\" who determined that the passengers were not a safety issue but intended to be sold in Argentina.
Lithium carrier-
S. Federal Aviation Administration\'s press secretary, Adam Comis, said the ion batteries on the plane were \"the most dangerous material problem\" for the FAA \".
The FAA, which oversees flight safety, classifies lithium batteries as hazardous materials because they are \"chemical and electrical hazards\" and have fire risks.
There have been several recalls of lithium.
S. Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Sasha Johnson said ion batteries used in laptops and other consumer goods \"may overheat spontaneously and cause fire \".
But the FAA and its parent transport department did not limit the amount of lithium.
Ion batteries for laptops, mobile phones and other portable electronic devices that passengers carry with them.
Other lithium batteries with high lithium content are also limited.
Since April 1999-
When a group of lithium batteries were removed from the cargo compartment of the passenger plane at Los Angeles International Airport and caught fire --
Johnson said the FAA received 40 fire reports involving lithium batteries and devices powered by lithium batteries.
Originally released as the next threat to flight safety battery?