# Piedmont Plastics, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 06-0273 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2007-01-09 06-0273 response to Piedmont Plastics, Inc. concerning 171.1, 173.6. ## Document text <<>> of Transportation U.S. Department Wash ngton, D.C. 20590 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Pipeline and Hazardous SAN Materials Safety Administration 9 2007 Mr. Dale Austin Ref. No.: 06-0273 Quality Manager Piedmont Plastics, Inc. 5010 West W.T. Harris Boulevard Charlotte, NC 20221-6006 Dear Mr. Austin: This is in response to your December 1, 2006 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to over the counter sales. Specifically, you ask if limited quantities of hazardous materials that are reclassed as "consumer commodity, (ORM-D)" are subject to the HMR when sold over the counter to customers at a retail sales establishment. interstate and foreign commerce. The term "in commerce" means in furtherance of a As specified in § 171.1, the HMR govern the transportation of hazardous materials in intrastate, commercial enterprise. Accordingly, hazardous materials that are sold to customers for personal, non-commercial use and transported by such persons in their personal vehicles are not subject to the HMR. Hazardous raterials purchased by a customer to support a commercial enterprise are subject to the HMR. manufacturer's containers offered for sale via customer pick-up are required to be labeled. The In addition, in accordance with the materials of trade exceptions, you ask whether your original answer is no. In accordance with § 173.6(c)(1) a non-bulk packaging other than a cylinder (including a receptacle transported without an outer packaging) must be marked with a common name or proper shipping name to identify the material it contains, including the letters "RQ" if it contains a reportable quantity of a hazardous substance. I hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely, that EDeRs enior Transportation Specialist Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 171.1 173.6 (c) (1) 060273 <<>> Herrera. Page 1 ot 2 §173.4 INFOCNTR $173.156 From: DALE AUSTIN [claustin @piedmontplastics.com] ORM-MOT Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 9:50 AM 06-0273 To: INFOCNTR Subject: Request for Interpretation Piedmont Plastics, Inc. 5010 West W.T. Harris Bld. Ph: (800) 277-7898 Charlotte, NC 20221-6006 Hazardous Materials Information Center (HMIC) December 1, 2006 U.S. DOT/PHMSA (PHH-10) 400 7th Street S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590-0001 Dear Sir or Madam: I am writing to request an interpretation about the transportation and sale of hazardous material. See below my questions but first the context. or accessory to our plast c sales we distribute some adhesives and other chemicals. Most of Piedmont Plastics is a medium size distributor of plastic rod, sheet and tube. As a supplement limited quantities (ORM-D). A few of our several locations ship regulated material on common our chemicals sales are non-regulated. Another large portion of our chemicals sales are carrier, courier or company truck. These locations ship these chemicals per the requirements criteria that require registration, nor to we ship in quantities that would require vehicle of 49 CFR Parts 100 to 185. We do not pour or mix chemicals, we do not meet any of the placarding. My Questions: 1. A great many of our sales are for customer pickup. Do these sales of Haz Mat fall under 2. Several of our locations have storefronts in which customers purchase Haz Mat from a the scope of 49 CFR Parts 100 to 185? store shelf (as you would an any local hardware). Do these sales of Haz Mat fall under the scope of 49 CFR Parts 100 to 185? 3. Fron the Materials of Trade exception, the material must be in the original manufacturer's container and does not need outer packaging. The original container must be marked with a common name or a proper shipping name. Is there a requirement that those original manufacturer's containers that we offer for sale via customer pickup be labeled? Sincerely, Dale Austin 12/1/2006 <<>> rage < ot z daustin@piedmontplastics.com Piedmont Plastics, Inc. Quality Manager 12/1/2006 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `0e312c147c6077c6dcfd15de3616c1173f039f2058f79b7338728b9a9584e19d` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-23T02:17:43.089Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-06-0273` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Piedmont Plastics, Inc." ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Dale Austin" ], "refIds": [ "06-0273" ], "catalogDates": [ "2007-01-09" ], "catalogParts": [ 171, 173 ], "catalogRowCount": 2, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/53996" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "171.1", "173.6", "173.6(c)(1)", "173.4", "173.156" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/1711", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/1736" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2006/060273.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2006/060273.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2006/060273.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/06-0273-d616080941.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "4ee6633ea6fbb27267e16e695e5338d0ce2e6cc4f72bf41df1eca04901b871fd", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/06-0273-d616080941.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "ace0a12d662d9df4cda9e9b231e33709a041590e556a2173e0b2edae1323eaee", "pageCount": 3, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```