# Mr. Lane Arbittier — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 00-0250 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2001-03-23 00-0250 concerning 178.509. ## Document text <<>> us sonation 00 Seventh Street. SW ashington. D. Research and MAR 2 3 2001 ecial Prograr ministrati 13533 Caminito Carmel Mr. Lane Arbittier Ref. No. 00-0250 Del Mar, CA 92014 Dear Mr. Arbittier: This is in response to your letter of August 30, 2000, requesting clarification of the capacity quirements for jerricans under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 17: 80). Specifically, you ask if a plastic jerrican may be certified to a 3H2 UN specification standa if the capacity exceeds 16 gallons. For purposes of distinguishing between bulk packagings and non-bulk packagings, definitions for these terms in § 171.8 limit the maximum capacity of a non-bulk packaging to 450 liters, regardless of whether it is intended for liquids or solids. A non-bulk packaging for solids is further limited to a maximum net mass of 400 kilograms. With regard to § 178.509, a UN 1H1 or 1H2 plastic drum as a receptacle for solids is limited to both a maximum net capacity of 450 liters and a maximum net mass of 400 kilograms through application of the definitions in § 171.8 and the criteria in paragraphs (b)(7) and (b)(8) of § 178.509. However, the § 171.8 criteria are not relevant to capacity and mass limitations for a UN 3H1 or 3H2 jerrican because the jerrican is limited to sizes which do not approach the bulk/non-bulk thresholds. Therefore, it is our determination that a jerrican as a receptacle for liquids is limited only to a maximum capacity of 60 liters as specified in § 178.509(b)(7) and a jerrican as a receptacle for solids is limited only to a maximum net mass of 120 kilograms as specified in § 178.509(b)(8). It is our understanding that this determination is consistent with application of size limitations in international regulations based on the United Nations Recommendations. We intend to clarify these provisions in future rulemaking action. ierrican which is intended to contain no more than 75 pounds (approximately 34 kilograms) of In response to your specific inquiry and based on the foregoing, you may manufacture a UN 3H2 solids only and has an internal volume of 17 gallons (approximately 64 liters). Since the maximum capacity of the package exceeds 60 liters, it may not be used for liquids. I trust this satisfies your inquiry. If we can be of further assistance, please contact us. Sincerely, Edward T. Mazzullo Director, Office of Hazardous 178.509 Matiliandards 000250 <<>> AUG-31-00 THỤ 17:11 BD-MEDSAFE FAX NO. 760 631 5324 P. 02/02 Nelson Lane Arbittier 533 Caminito Carm el Mar, CA 920 8178.504(6)(8) Now-barac nickleğings August 30, 2000 202-366-3012 Via Facsimile Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Mr. Edward Mazzullo 00-0250 Washington, D.C. 20590 400 7% Street SW, Suite 8422 Dear Mr. Mazullo: Our company recently developed a medical sharps container. We would like to certify it as a shipping container that complies with UN 3291, solid regulated medical waste requirements, and ve would like to label the container with a UN package specification marking. The shape of ou harps container meets the definition of a 3H2 plastic removable head jerrican. It will have sharps). §178.509(b)(8), the maximum net mass for a 3H2 jerrican is 265 pounds. Fritz Wybengea told me According to §178.509(b)(7), the maximum capacity for a 3H2 jerrican is 16 gallons. According to that that the maximum capacity in §178.509(b)(7) was intended for liquid containers and the maximum net mass in §178.509(b)(8) was intended for solids containers. I asked Mr. Wybengea if I could get his interpretation in writing and he suggested that I call the DOT Help Line. and discussed it with his coworkers, he was unsure about the interpretation and he suggested that more clarification and Mike Johnson answered my call. After Mr. Johnson researched my question 1 write this letter. My hope is that Mr. Wybengea's interpretation is correct (that is, our solids container is not limited to 16 gallons, it is just limited to 265 pounds). If Mr. Wybengea's interpretation is not correct, we will need to quickly submit a request for an exemption to allow 17 gallons for our 3H2 jerrican. I believe that it would be appropriate for the egulations to allow the 3H2 jerrican to have the same 119 gallon capacity as the other non-bull ackages providing the jerrican is capable of passing the solid regulated medical waste tests a It is our company goal to certify our 17 gallon container within two months. I would greatly appreciate a prompt response. Please call me at 760-631-6520 if you have any questions. Thank Sincerely, Lane Arbittier DOTQuestion.doc ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `bf5cfaad0399432b783bdd85cd66ff40b4762b0cd1e1d182866dce3b26ddafde` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-22T07:24:00.935Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-00-0250` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [], "individuals": [ "Mr. Lane Arbittier" ], "refIds": [ "00-0250" ], "catalogDates": [ "2001-03-23" ], "catalogParts": [ 178 ], "catalogRowCount": 1, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/59681" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "178.509", "171.8" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/178509" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2000/000250.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2000/000250.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2000/000250.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/00-0250-514594c20e.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "abefe0c032d662f3d018661dc8e0f6012bff4b90915421a626ba511ffd03ea31", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/00-0250-514594c20e.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "cfb89e7f0921850806d4e33079aaa0c19e90a579fe1b415f269d89812d266010", "pageCount": 2, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```