Flight Crew Instrument; Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Multiengine
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 125; Flight Crew Total 12756; Flight Crew Type 1323
Communication Breakdown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Hazardous Material Violation; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Weight And Balance
General Work Refused
Human Factors; Procedure
During cargo loading; the ZZZZ ramp loaded a pallet that contain Hazmat. When we received the planned ACARS Hazmat form; it showed the code of '12'. According to the Flight Operations Manual (FOM) there is only 11 Hazmat categories listed; so I call the [Chief Pilot] to clarify what is a code 12. He stated that there was no code 12 and he would conferred with [Operations Control] load planning. [Operations Control] load planning later said that it was a lithium battery. So here; I have a known highly flammable; high voltage; possible uncontrollable discharging lithium battery buried inside other flammable materials on a pallet in my cargo hold. Its code is not the FOM; which I interpret to mean that the company has not authorized shipment of such material AND my aircraft's fire suppression system cannot extinguish this burning item if it ignites AND we are on an 11 hour flight over water flight with any possible divert fields hours away from my route. This decision was simple; remove the battery from the pallet. But ZZZZ Ramp stated that they could not remove the battery from the pallet because it was not assessable - it was buried deep within the pallet stack.This was definitely a safety of flight issue; so I requested to ZZZZ Operations that they remove the pallet and we had an on-time departure.
While preflighting; we received a planned Dangerous Goods (DG) ACARS message for lithium batteries with an ICAO Drill Code 12FZ. However; the IATA Aircraft Emergency Response Drill Code Table found in FOM (Flight Operation Manual) only goes to Drill Code 11. There is no Drill Code 12. I advised the Captain of this; he called Station Operations and asked the DG/loading supervisor to come to the cockpit. He also called the Chief Pilot.The loading supervisor showed up immediately and told the Captain that the DG was loaded at the bottom of a 5000-pound pallet of cargo. The Chief Pilot then called us; he agreed that Drill Code 12 was not there and contacted the Dangerous Goods specialist. The DG specialist told the Captain that the lithium batteries were good to go; it was a very small amount; and that they were approved; even allowed in the cabin. He referenced FOM; under Lithium Battery-Powered Electronic Devices.FOM states that those lithium batteries are permitted in; or as; carry-on baggage. The unspoken implication was that if they were safe enough for the cabin; then they were safe enough for being loaded as cargo. Personally; I would rather have a small lithium battery torch off in the cabin where I can see it and fight it; rather than in the pit (where our fire suppression won't work on lithium) at the bottom of a 5000-pound pallet of combustible cargo.The Captain pointed out that the Drill Code and Drill Letters tell the pilots what actions to take to stabilize the situation and prevent aircraft damage or loss of life. Without the FOM information for Drill Code 12; we would have no guidance available in a Hazmat event involving the lithium batteries.The Captain declined to carry the DG. The station removed the pallet and we departed on time.Additional comments: Obviously; there is a Drill Code 12. It is relatively new; as of January 2019. A cursory search online will find references to Drill Code 12 and lithium batteries. From the IATA Dangerous Good Regulations; 60th Edition (2019); Significant Changes*; this is a change showing that the inherent hazard for lithium batteries is not - 'No General inherent risk' and a new drill number '12-Fire; heat; smoke; toxic and flammable vapor' was adopted. There are even apps showing the IATA Emergency Response Drill Codes - including Drill Code 12FZ - and the appropriate cockpit actions. It's appalling that [the web] has this information available but the Flight Operations Manual doesn't. There is absolutely no excuse for having out-of-date DG information when aircrew and passenger lives are at stake. The Drill Codes give pilots guidance in case of an inflight Hazmat emergency. Not having correct and current information on how to handle a Hazmat emergency - especially one involving lithium batteries - could result in a catastrophic hull loss and the loss of all souls on board.
B-777 flight crew reported refusing cargo due to Lithium Ion Hazmat and the documentation referenced a Hazmat code that not listed in the Flight Operations Manual.