# Holman Fenwick & Willan — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 04-0280 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2005-03-29 04-0280 response to Holman Fenwick & Willan concerning 176.83. ## Document text <<>> of Transportation U.S. Department 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590 peline an Administration azardous Materials Safel MAR 2 9 2005 Mr. Rory Butler Ref No.: 04-0280 Holman Fenwick & Willan Marlow House, Lloyds Avenue London EC3N 3AL Dear Mr. Butler: This responds to your December 14, 2004, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Material Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts. 171-180) applicable to vessel stowage of heat sensitive material. Specifically, you ask how the regulations apply to containers packed with heat sensitive hazardous materials. Please accept my apology for the delay in responding and any inconvenience this may have caused. When the Hazardous Materials Table (HMT; § 172.101) references "Code 48" in column (10B) for a specific hazardous material, the material must be stowed "away from" sources of heat (see § 176.84(b)). As indicated in § 176.84(a), the term "away from" is defined in § 176.83. In accordance with § 176.83(c)(2)(ii), "away from" means "effectively segregated so that the incompatible materials cannot interact dangerously in the event of an accident but may be carried in the same compartment or hold or on deck provided a minimum horizontal separation of 3 m (10 ft) projected vertically is obtained." With reference to materials that must be stowed "away from" sources of heat, therefore, "away from" means a minimum separation of 3 m in any direction from the heat source. When heat sensitive material is packed inside a freight container, the freight container must be stowed a minimum of 3 m in any direction from the heat source. You ask if the regulatory requirements for stowage of heat sensitive materials have been encountered. The stowage requirements for calcium hypochlorite were revised after 1998 he column (10B) entry for this material now references Code 43 Sincerely, 116.83 that Susan Gorsky Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Acting Director 040280 <<>> Eichenlaub $176.83 Dear Mr. Butler, Segregation requests for interpretation via E-mail. The Office of Hazardous Materials Standards may not respond to formal requested via mail or fax in accordance with 49 CFR § 105.20. In general, formal guidance is properly respond to your request, we have transferred your inquiry to the In order to via standard mail. appropriate official and after review, you will receive a written response the Hazardous Materials Information Center, which is staffed with regulatory If you have any questions or require additional assistance, you may contact specialists who car quickly answer your questions by phone, Monday through Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM EST at (800) 467-4922 or (202) 366-4488. Sincerely, Kevin Leary, Hazardous Materials Specialist An e-mail response from this office is considered informal guidance. Formal http://hazmat.dot.gov/infocent.htm guidance may be requested in accordance with 49 CFR 105.20. From: Rory Butler [mailto:Rory.Butler@hfw.co.uk] -----Original Message----- Sent: Tuesday, December 14, 2004 6:00 PM Ca: Julian Clark To: INFOCNTR@RSPA.dot.gov Subject: RE: urgent - INTERPRETATION QUERY regarding CFR 49 - meaning of s towage "away from" sources of heat PLEASE READ THE IMPORTANT NOTICE BELOW E-MAIL FOR KEVIN LEARY Dear Mr Leary Thank you for your earlier e-mail and for responding so quickly. we have already reviewed CFR 49 in some detail for guidance on the "away from" stowage requirement, in particular we have considered 176.83 in depth. sensitive dangerous goods) has been stowed directly on top of a heated We are concerned with a situation where a 20ft container (containing heat tank from the bottom of the container. On our reading of CFR 49 as it stood bunker tank, with just a few inches separating the top of the heated bunker stowage is away from the source of heat by virtue of the fact that the goods in 1998, in particular 176.83 this stowage is entirely satisfactory as the requirement. are within a container. The container itself satisfying the "away from" <<>> we doubt this can be correct from a pratical and safety level and therefore you would regard stowage as described in the paragraph above. How far away sought your guidance. Please let us know if we are misreading CFR 49 and how from the source of heat should the container be (if at all) for example? We would have contacted your phoneline but given the time difference with the UK and the fact that this enquiry is complex we thought it best to e- Many thanks again for your help Best regards Rory Butler Rory Butler Direct Dial: Holman Fenwick & Willan Fax: 020 7264 8310 e-mail: rory.butler@hfw.co.uk 020 7481 0316 Dear Mr. Butler, >>> INFOCNTR 12/14/04 9:28 PM >>> We have received your inquiry about the hazardous materials regulations (HMR) (49 CFR Parts 171-180) • The HMR prescribes the requirements of the Department of Transportation governing the offering and transportation of hazardous materials in vehicle, interstate, intrastate, and foreign commerce by rail car, aircraft, motor applicable requirement, and vessel.. While we cannot provide an exhaustive list of each information on the definition of "Away from" as it is used in the vessel we suggest you review $ 176.83 for additional are available at the following URL: http://hazmat.dot.gov/rules.htm stowage provisions found in § 176.84. The hazardous materials regulations If you require additional assistance, you may contact the Hazardous Materials Information Center, which is staffed with regulatory specialists - 5 PM EST at (800) 467-4922 or (202) 366-4488. who can quickly answer your questions by phone, Monday through Friday, 9 AM Sincerely, Kevin Leary, Hazardous Materials Specialist ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `4f246b8d5c7059b6eabd8418857173be0daec91088afba2e0fd9719a133bdb09` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-23T11:42:55.121Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-04-0280` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Holman Fenwick & Willan" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Rory Butle" ], "refIds": [ "04-0280" ], "catalogDates": [ "2005-03-29" ], "catalogParts": [ 176 ], "catalogRowCount": 1, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/50081" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "176.83", "172.101", "176.84(b)" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/17683" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2004/040280.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2004/040280.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2004/040280.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/04-0280-296a1bf861.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "99589eabd279d014913255668244fc5a96b05e2012536ed93308099cdc7a7d0b", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/04-0280-296a1bf861.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "54e01b88d597e8665d77ced8b609050df9ad414ca4a311fea99a76f2b012cd8f", "pageCount": 3, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```