B787 Dreamliner Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 175; Flight Crew Total 8970; Flight Crew Type 4231
Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance
Flight Crew Overcame Equipment Problem; General Work Refused
Human Factors
Prior to pushback we receive a planned Dangerous Goods printout but not a final dangerous goods summary. The Captain spoke with the ramp Lead; Operations; Dispatch; the Chief Pilot; and Load Planning. We could not get a definitive answer or paperwork to confirm if the Dangerous Goods had been loaded or not. We did find out that the planned Dangerous Goods had not been loaded but 391 pounds of lithium ion batteries had been loaded. Lithium Ion batteries are listed in the manual as exempt from pilot notification but also they have certain prohibitions depending on packing and voltage. We had no way of knowing without paperwork. I expressed my concern about safety and legality to the Captain since I have read about numerous incidents with consumer product lithium batteries on aircraft as well as the NTSB's final report on the 787's that lists oversight on battery safety by Boeing and the FAA. Since we were on a duty time extension; the batteries were removed and we departed.
Before push back we received a planned DG [Dangerous Goods] message that was not followed by a final DG message. We asked load planning and operations what we had onboard but no one could give us a straight answer. So we contacted dispatch to gain clarification. Still no answer. The lead in ZZZ sent a picture of what he showed on the final DG but we never received a copy. We were then notified that the planned DG had not been loaded but that we had 391# of lithium batteries. We were uncomfortable with that so called the Chief Pilot; who pointed out the page reference regarding pilot notification and lithium batteries. We elected to pull the pallet in question so we could depart with all crew members comfortable regarding the safety of the items being transported.
B-787 flight crew reported refusing Hazmat cargo due to communications breakdown between flight crew and ground personnel regarding accuracy of DG data.