# Triumvirate Environmental — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** 05-0240  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 2005-11-30

05-0240 response to Triumvirate Environmental concerning 173.433, 173.436.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

U.S. Department
of Transportation
Washington, D.C. 20590
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Pipeline and
NOV 30 2005
Administration
Hazardous Materials Safety
Mr. Rick Foote
Ref. No. 05-0240
Sr. Environmental Compliance Advisor
Triumvirate Environmental
61 Inner Belt Road
Somerville, MA 02143
Dear Mr. Foote:
This responds to your September 19, 2005 letter requesting clarification on the
classification of rubidium (Rb-87) as a radioactive material under the Hazardous
Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask for
confirmation that your material, rubidium (Rb-87), is not a hazardous material based on
the definition and on activity limits in §§ 173.433 and 173.436.
According to your letter, your material (Rb-87) is contained within an article, specifically
within a small envelope that is part of a measuring device used in GPS system. The
activity of the Rb-87 is less than 1.7 × 10 (negative) 4"* micro curies (approximately 6.29
becquerels).
Your understanding is correct. The item will not be a Class 7 hazardous material if the
total activity of Rb-87 in a consignment is less than 10 million bequerels. In almost all
cases, this item will not be a Class 7 hazardous material. It could become a Class 7
hazardous material only if a single consignment were to contain over 1,590,000 of these
items, and the activity concentration exceeds 10,000 becquerels per gram.
I hope this answers your inquiry.
173.433
173.436
050240

<<<PAGE 2>>>

50o4
3173.433
3173.436
RAM Exceptions
05-024C
March 1, 2005
Mr. Edward T. Mazzullo
Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards
U.S. DOT/PHMSA (DHM-10)
400 7th Street S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590-0001
RE: Hazardous Materials Regulation Clarification
Dear Sir:
My client ships a small amount of Rb-87 contained within an article. The rubidium is
contained within a small "envelope" that is part of a measuring device used in GPS
systems. The activity level from the RB-87 has an activity level of less then 1.7 x
10(negative) 4th micro curies. In order for a material to be considered radioactive first it
must meet the definition of a radioactive material. The regulations define a radioactive as
the following: "Radioactive material means any material containing radionuclides where
both the activity concentration and the total activity in the consignment exceed the values
specified in the table in § 173.436 or values derived according to the instructions in §
173.433"
We feel that this amount and activity level for the Rb-87 is exempt from the regulations
because the material has an activity rating of equal to or less then 1.0 X 10 -4 as per the
table found in 49 CFR 173.436. Therefore, we feel that this material is not considered a
hazardous material per DOT Hazardous Materials regulations. We are looking for a
written confirmation of this information. Thank you
Rick Foote
Sr. Environmental Compliance Advisor

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2005/050240.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `c21eeeb7a72583b60b57b42c9d9a29339d0780f0e38ac2e36241461879fb06a4`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-23T09:06:48.928Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-05-0240`

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