# Solvay Chemicals — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 06-0182 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2006-09-11 06-0182 response to Solvay Chemicals concerning 172.401. ## Document text <<>> J.S. Departmen f Transportatior Washington, D.C. 20590 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration SEP 11 2006 Mr. Marc Feldman Ref. No. 06-0182 Regulatory Affairs Manager Solvay Chemicals 3333 Richmond Avenue Houston, TX 77098-3099 Dear Mr. Feldman: This is in response to your July 31, 2006 letter regarding a material that meets the definition for a Class 9 material under the European Agreements Concerning the International Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road (ADR) and Rail Agreements (RID) regulations for transportation of hazardous materials by highway or rail in Europe, but does not meet the definition of any hazard class under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180), the International Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) Code, or the International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (ICAO Technical Instructions). According to your letter, your company imports a material that does not meet the definition of a hazardous material under the HMR, the IMDG Code or the ICAO Technical Instructions, but is regulated as "Environmentally hazardous substance, solid, the markings and labels for transportation in the United States and does not wish to n.o.s., 9, UN3077" in accordance with the ADR/RID. Your company does not remove describe these materials as hazardous materials on shipping papers. The ICAO Technical Instructions and the IMDG Code permi: materials designated as or destination, but do not meet the definition of a hazardous substance or hazardous waste environmentally hazardous by the Competent Authority of the country of origin, transit or other hazard class to be described as "Environmentally hazardous substances, liquid or solid, n.o.s." Section 172.401(c) permits labeling in accordance with the ICAO Technical Instructions shipping documents. 172:401 (c) 060182 <<>> You should be aware that because your shipment will not be accompanied by a shipping paper, the marks and labels on your package may cause delays or otherwise frustrate it: transportation. To avoid this problem, we suggest the following: 1. Remove, obliterate, or securely cover the markings and labels; or 2. Leave the marking and labeling in place and describe the material as "Environmentally hazardous substances, liquid or solid, n.o.s." in accordance with § 172.102, Special Provision 146. I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if you require additional assistance. Sincerely, Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards <<>> Leary SOLVAY $ 172.401 (c) SOLVAYI CHEMICALS $ 172.101 INTEROY, FLUORIDES & MINERALS Classification 06-0182. July 31, 2006 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Office of Hazardous Materials Standards, ATTN: PHH-10 400 7' Street SW U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, DC 20590 Via electronic mail and surface mail Dear Sirs: My company imports a material that does not meet any of the characteristics necessary to be classified as a hazardous material under any of the nine hazardous material (hazmat) classes identified in the U.S. Hazardous Naterials Regulations (49 CFR 171-180, "the HMR"). "Dangerous to the Environment" with subsequent marking and labeling as a The European classification scheme, however, classes this materiai as Class 9 , Environmentally Hazardous Substance, Solid, Not Otherwise Specified, IMDG Code (Ocean) and ICAO Technical Instructions (and IATA (NOS), UN 3077, in the ADR/RID (European Road / Rail. Furthermore the), under "other transport regulations" to be marked, labeled and transported under regulations)(Air) permit materials classified as hazardous to the environment this entry (see IMDG Code Special Provision 909 and ICAO/IATA Special Provision A97 assigned to the entry for UN 3077). In this regard, we note that 49 CFR §172.401 (c) permits transportation of IMDG Code, ICAO Technical Instructions (IATA) or TDG Regulations (Canada) packages displaying hazard labels in compliance with UN Recommendations, when the packages contain materials not categorized as hazardous under the HMR. However, while we do not remove the labels and markings from packages containing these materials, for distribution within the United States we do not wish to ship these material as a hazardous material (for example, we do not wish to describe them as a hazardous material on the shipping paper). Te: 77062-9089 1.7003 Goal Chemistreet shoes Sweeterble cere <<>> SOLVAY SOLVAY CHEMICALS INTEROX, FLUORIDES & MINERALS There have been occasions when our shipping documents for the domestic transportation of such materials have been questioned by various parties because the shipping papers do not describe the material as a hazardous number UN 3077 and associated proper shipping name However, we believe material whereas the packages display a Class 9 label and the identification the display of these markings and labels on packages containing materials as described herein is permitted by the HMR even when the material is not transported as a hazardous material and described as such on the shipping paper. Your confirmation of this understanding is requested. marking of the ID number and proper shipping name and/or the shipping papers, Does the response change if the packaging, still showing class 9 labeling and have, "NOT DOT Hazardous" or an indication to that effect, on them? weekdays between 7:30 am and 3:30 pm Central time. Should you require any other information, I may be reached at 713-525-6575, Thank you for your interpretation. Sincerely, marbles Dr. Marc A. Feldman, CMQ/OE Regulatory Affairs Manager 22s tr0 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `653412875f12ff2c8a958b4c91882cdea35c64eef74e9ed5d3fba205ce29dd8a` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-24T19:54:57.911Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-06-0182` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Solvay Chemicals" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Marc Feldman" ], "refIds": [ "06-0182" ], "catalogDates": [ "2006-09-11" ], "catalogParts": [ 172 ], "catalogRowCount": 1, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/44461" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "172.401", "172.401(c)", "172.102", "172.101" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172401" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2006/060182.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2006/060182.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2006/060182.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/06-0182-5f05e8abb5.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "186391b59b9b8c39e361a00e11cf2697a4e45f502cb5a8797bcaf827fa9f8ad5", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/06-0182-5f05e8abb5.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "aa7124ecbd734d7ffdaf128a59b3fc1830c9ba3b687c574fb5073c4f643c1c68", "pageCount": 4, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```