Proposed battery restrictions could crimp e-commerce, air travel

For instance, the battery inside an already-padded box for a new notebook PC might need to be packaged in an additional fiberboard box along with extra shipping documents, he said.

It could also mean untold numbers of workers overseas and in the U.S. will have to get "fully-regulated hazmat" training to simply handle a box with an iPod or HP laptop inside, Kerchner said.

"We're talking about billions of dollars," he said. Those new costs will likely be passed on by manufacturers and shipping companies to customers.

"If you buy a digital camera and want it delivered next-day-air, that might an additional $30 to $40 that the shipper is not going to absorb," he said. "It will have a huge impact on online sales."

The proposed changes would likely affect all consumers to a degree, he said, since electronics goods, because of how quickly they lose value, tend to be shipped via air from factories in Asia to the U.S. rather than sent by ship.