Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV1) released the following statement today after an accident and fire involving a truck carrying 31,000 pounds of lithium batteries on U.S. Highway 95 between Mercury and Highway 160.

“Today’s accident and fire on U.S. 95 involving a truck carrying lithium-ion batteries underscores the urgency for Congress to act on the ‘Thermal Runaway Reduction Act’, legislation I introduced last week in response to a similar accident on Interstate 15 in July. Without better regulation of the transport of these batteries, it is only a matter of time before these accidents and resulting fires take human lives. Furthermore, the resulting road closures and the amount of water needed to extinguish these fires have significant impacts on resources in our region. Congress needs to act quickly to enact live-saving regulations.” 

Last week, Congresswoman Titus introduced the “Thermal Runaway Reduction Act” in the aftermath of a fire involving six lithium ion batteries on Interstate 15 in late July that shut down the highway between Barstow and Las Vegas for two days.

The “Thermal Runaway Reduction Act” focuses on ways to reduce the potential for thermal runaway during the transportation of lithium-ion batteries by doing the following:

Requiring impact testing for lithium-ion batteries that accounts for forces experienced in transportation accidents; and
Requiring the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to issue regulations that set a maximum state of charge of 30% for lithium-ion batteries set for ground transportation, similar to what is required for air transportation. 

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