# Degussa Corporation — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 07-0101 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2007-07-11 07-0101 response to Degussa Corporation concerning 172.101, 173.22. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C 20590 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration JUL 1 1 2007 Mr. John Foglio Degussa Corporation 379 Interpace Parkaay Parsippany, New Jersey 07054-8042 Ref. No.: 07-01 01 Dear Mr. Foglio: This is in response to your May 9, 2007 letter regarding the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-1 80) to the transportation of acetone cyanohydrin. Specifically, you request clarification of a previous letter of interpretation issued to you by this office on March 16, 2007 (Ref. No.: 07-0046), which stated that the proper shipping name "Acetone cyanohydrin, stabilized is not an appropriate proper shipping name for your material because the material does not meet the definition of an ir?halation hazard. Based on the information you provided at that time, we recommended using the generic proper shipping name, "Toxic liquid, organic, n.0.s." In your follolx-up request for interpretation you have added that the material is a nitrile with a dermal toxicity of 17 mglkg. Based on the additional information, you ask if it is more appropriate to use the proper shipping description "UN 3276, Nitriles Toxic Liquid. n.0.s.. 6.1, P(J I." As you are aware. it is the shipper's responsibility to properly class and describe a hazardous material. This office does not perform that function. However. based on the technical data you originally submitted and the additional information you provided in this follow-up letter, it is the opinion of this office that "Nitriles toxic liquid, n.0.s.. 6.1. PG I" is a more appropriate proper shipping description for your material. I hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions. please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely. A /& Chief. Standards Development I Office of Hazardous :\/laterials Standards <<>> Eichenlaub $172.101 degussa. $173.22 Classitication 07-0101 DEGUSSA CORPORATION PARSIPPANY, NJ 07054-0677 379 INTERPACE PARKWAY PHONE: DIRECT: (973) 541-8042 FAX: (973) 541 - 8040 May 9, 2007 john.foglio@degussa.com Standards Development, PHH-11 Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave SE Washington, DC 20590-0001 Re: Acetone Cyanohydrin Dear Mr. Gale, We would like to thank you for your letter of guidance dated March 16, 2007, copy attached for your convenience. Under the circumstances, we know that your letter will have to be presented to carriers and perhaps also to enforcement personnel. We know that any discrepancy in our classification and the one in your letter is likely to present confusion. In your letter you suggested Toxic Liquids, Organic, N.O.S. and PG II. At the time you had no way of knowing this is a Nitrile. Also, our references mention that the dermal toxicity is 17 mg / kg. We would like to classify the material as UN 3276, Nitriles Toxic Liquid, N.O.S., 6.1, PG I. We know that we are responsible for the classification of material we offer for transportation but we really need your confirmation because as stated above we know we will have to provide your letter. Our shipping description will include the generic name acetone cyanohydrin and our classification will be questioned. When we provide your letter our classification as Nitriles will not be supported. Can you please send us another letter similar to the other that supports our classification as Nitriles and PG I? I thank you in advance for your kind assistance. Sincerely, It Fishin ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `7d711fa704b02e274c05fcad2295a3440ac86814f5dc764746b1c5375585d3e5` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-22T20:47:11.894Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-07-0101` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Degussa Corporation" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. John Foglio" ], "refIds": [ "07-0101" ], "catalogDates": [ "2007-07-11" ], "catalogParts": [ 172, 173 ], "catalogRowCount": 2, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/44766" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "172.101", "173.22" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172101", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/17322" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2007/070101.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2007/070101.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2007/070101.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/07-0101-f62a5fdc06.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "23e8d1d45c27d2c63297b575d72ded6219ddc1e29b2ed51e48d570e2afaa9f29", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/07-0101-f62a5fdc06.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "9ad16f76ad809382c36e898242b3ca096aac6ce3cc45be1b6717c029a11f92d2", "pageCount": 2, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```