# Baker Hughes — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 02-0106 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2002-05-17 02-0106 response to Baker Hughes concerning 171.8. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation 400 Seventh St., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590 Research and Admint railors MAY 17 2002 Ms. Shelley Espinoza Ref. No. 02-0106 Sr. HSE Advisor Baker Hughes 2001 Rankin Road Houston, Texas 77073 Dear Ms. Espinoza, This is in response to your letter dated April 2, 2002, requesting clarification of a transport vehicle and an overpack under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 100-185) as applied to a particular enclosure. Specifically, you state that the enclosure is a box that is welded, bolted or otherwise permanently or semi-permanently attached to the bed of an open bed vehicle and is not part of the original vehicle construction. The box is used to protect and consolidate hazardous material packages from one consignor. You also convey your understanding that the box would be considered an overpack if it is less than 64 cubic feet. As defined in § 171.8, a transport vehicle is a cargo-carrying vehicle such as an automobile, tractor, truck, etc. used for the transportation of cargo by any mode. An overpack is an enclosure used by a single consignor to provide protection or convenience in the handling of a package or to consolidate two or more packages. An overpack does not include a transport vehicle. An example of an ovepack is one or more packages placed in a protective outer packaging such as a box or crate. An overpack must meet the definition in § 171.8 and is not determined by its cubic feet limitation. A reference to a limitation of 64 cubic feet is found in § 171.8 under the definition of a freight container. However, it does not apply to a transport vehicle or an overpack. It is our opinion that the described enclosure mounted on the vehicle is a modification to the transport vehicle. It is now a permanent or semi-permanent attachment of the vehicle. The vehicle and the affixed enclosure is considered a transport vehicle. I hope this information is helpful. If we can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely, Delmer F. Billings Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 171.8 020106 <<>> - Foster $ 171.8 Definitions BAUCHES 02 - 8106 Bak Rankin Road Houston, Texas 77073 Tel (713) 625-4603 Fax (713) 625-6520 Shelley Espinoza Sr. HSE Advisor April 2, 2002 Mr. Delmer Billings Chief, Standards Development Research and Special Programs Administration Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 400 Seventh Street, S.W. U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, DC 20590-0001 Dear Mr. Billings: or is an overpack, as defined in 49 CFR 171.8, is greatly appreciated. Clarification by your office as to whether the following type of enclosure is considered part of a transport vehicle Enclosure: A box that is welded, bolted or otherwise permanently or semi-permanently altached to the bed of consolidate hazardous materials packages from one consignor; a private or contract carrier operates the an open bed vehicle. The box is not part of the original construction of the vehicle. It is used to protect and attached to the vehicle, other than being secured to prevent movement during transport. It is understood that the box would be considered an overpack if it is less than 64 c.f. in volume and is not Thanking you in advance for help with this issue, Kelley Experion Sr. HSE Advisor Shelley Espinoz: ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `0d050e78037093138218cbdd6012cfa28022c54aad55a4003b12bb5d3918f0e2` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-22T14:24:50.412Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-02-0106` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Baker Hughes" ], "individuals": [ "Shelley Espinoza" ], "refIds": [ "02-0106" ], "catalogDates": [ "2002-05-17" ], "catalogParts": [ 171 ], "catalogRowCount": 1, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/53476" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "171.8" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/1718" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2002/020106.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2002/020106.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2002/020106.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/02-0106-2787ae469d.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "e864959f0568f827b03ea4ceff1da582cccba38c20b01ae79205d9a70488fffc", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/02-0106-2787ae469d.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "60f6810dcbf06c3ffc1e369baad6839b9607b1b7892ba2a90419decbd259fa38", "pageCount": 2, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```