# Lixi, Inc — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 07-0180 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2007-11-14 07-0180 response to Lixi, Inc concerning 173.422, 175.75. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Mr. Robert Savini Vice President Lixi, Inc. 1 1980 Oak Creek Pkwy. Huntley, IL 601 42 Ref No. 07-01 80 Dear Mr. Savini: This is in response to your letter dated September 1 1,2007 requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 17 1-1 80) applicable to excepted packages of radioactive materials transported by aircraft. Specifically, you ask whether an excepted package of UN 291 1 "Radioactive material, excepted package - instruments or articles" may be transported as carry on or checked baggage on board passenger-carrying aircraft. Section 175.75 specifies that, except as provided in the HMR, no person may carry a hazardous material in the cabin of a passenger-carrying aircraft or on the flight deck of any aircraft, and the hazardous material must be located in a place that is inaccessible to persons other than crew members. However, $ 173.422 excepts from the provisions of $ 175.75 -among others - a package containing a Class 7 material that is prepared for shipments under the requirements found in §§ 1 73.421, 173.422, 1 73.424, 173.426, and 173.428. Therefore, provided these requirements are met, there is nothing in the HMR to prohibit a package of UN 291 1 "Radioactive material, excepted package - instruments or articles" from being transported as carry on or checked baggage on board passenger-carrying aircraft. It should be noted that the International Civil Aviation Organization's Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods (ICAO TI) specifically prohibits passengers from carrying excepted radioactive materials in the cabin or in checked baggage (see ICAO TI 8; 1.1.1). Many commercial airlines follow the International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Dangerous Goods Regulations which are based on the ICAO TI. Therefore, even in the US, airlines may choose to prohibit the carriage of excepted radioactive materials in the cabin and checked baggage based on these ICAO international regulations or IATA industry standards. <<>> In addition, a US air operator's ability to carry excepted radioactive materials may also be limited by its operations specifications issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). I trust this response satisfies your inquiry. Sincerely, [ Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards <<>> Mr. I:Jtwrd Mazzullo. Ilirecto~ Of'ticc c)f l lazardous 3,tutcrials Standards f DFIM- 10) Research and Special Pro~mms Admillistration L!.S. Ihprirtmenl of r'rrinsportation 400 Seventh St.. SW 1Vxhington. DC 20590-0001 Suhject: Clarificatiorl of sllippinp regulatiuns for "excepted packages" of radioactive lnaterial by domcstic commercial passenger aircraft. 0 t 1 r company. Lixi. Inc.. rnanufacturcs gauging 'and imaging cquiprnent that uscs up tnl Curie of the radioactivc. isotope (iadtbli ni urn- 1 53 in sealed source form as a gamma source. The exposure control dei ice. with this source, on our equipn.lent when packaged. conform to the conditions and limitations specilicd in 49 CFR 173.421 for "Radioactive material, excepted packag -- instnrrncnts or articles, I'h3911." In 1984. I.ixi. Inc, ~-equested and received a lettcr (a~tached) from the l1.S. I)c.part~nent of -hnsportation ( I_'SV( 1-1') clarifiit~g that an "esccpted package" of' radioactive nlaterial may be transported on board pabsenycr carrytrlg aircwti as carry-on or checked biigpgc prot ided it complics L\ ith the applicable rcquircmcnts under thc I la-arrious Materials Rcgulalions. Hokvebcr. loday we are Jhced ~ i t h the problem t h t ~ t pcr5onncl ut varicsuu airlines see the LN2911 marking on our pncAugc and refiat: to acticp~ i t LLS chwhed or cat?-on baggage on passenger aircrctti. I'hey adkise us that we must proccss the packagc as a cargG sh~prtlant to gel it on the same aircrati as the ptrssenger. \'c. rrrlilest a response in writing tio~n the L'SDUI that restates cxcepted packages containing i!N 291 1 radioactive material that compl~ uith 49 C'FK Sections 177.321. 173 122. 173.424. and 173.425 ma) bc tra11spf)rtcd as checked or carry-on baggage on boar~l passenger tarn ing alrcrafi. -1ri. inc. 11980 0dr Creek Pkwy. Huntley, 1L 60142 a47 961 6606 F 84: 961 6667 ivwi*.lixi.c~rn <<>> APPENDIX F Resea~Ch and Zpeciul Programs Administration Mr. Robert 3. Sevini Executive Vice President Lixi, Ine. 1438 Brook D r i v e Downers Grove, f 11 inois 6051 4 Dear Mt., Sevinit Thank yau for' your Letter o f December 27, 1903, which describes the Lixi- scope devices c~ntaining a maximum of 500 milBicurie of Iodine 125. The requirements for such packages are provf ded in 49 CFR Sections 173,422 and 173,423. The informetion in yoor letter indicates that the Lixiscope packages can comply w i t h these requirements, and i f they ere otherwise prepared and offered for shipment as required by 49 CFR 173.421-t, the packages ere excepted from most other requirements o f the Department's Hazardous Materials Regulations. A properly packaged tixiscope with the notice required by 49 CFR 173,421-1 may be I q a l l y carried aboard e passenger carrying aircraft es eerry-on or checked baggage (reference $1 73.421-1 (b) 1. I hope this informetian is useFlrl t o you and your customers, Sincerely, Richard R. Rawl Chief, Radioactive Branch Office of Hezsrdous Meteriels Regul st ion Materials Traneportatian Bureau ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `ad4eb32e6fafaa6e5c227f559af36e199b9c9517e19804ed4b37c904a033ab44` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-27T01:33:06.328Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-07-0180` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Lixi, Inc" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Robert Savini" ], "refIds": [ "07-0180" ], "catalogDates": [ "2007-11-14" ], "catalogParts": [ 173, 175 ], "catalogRowCount": 2, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/57036" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "173.422", "175.75", "173.426", "173.428", "173.421", "177.321", "173.424", "173.425" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/173422", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/17575" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2007/070180.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2007/070180.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2007/070180.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/07-0180-78b44cb5ad.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "6a235a6413a3943e0c02a759098a4178a4ef2c018a331ecf9b6b757898a328a6", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/07-0180-78b44cb5ad.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "3302cff43a4d400def927c218e2a72abd0565e7a4260470da7073f534e447708", "pageCount": 4, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```