# ERM, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 08-0065 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2008-04-25 08-0065 response to ERM, Inc. concerning 172.201. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Adminlstratlon 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Mr. Mark Yannett Senior Project Manager Strategic Services & Product Sustainability ERM, Inc. 700 W. Virginia Street Suite 601 Milwaukee, WI 53204 Ref. No. 08-0065 Dear Mr. Yannett: This is in response to your March 10,2008 request for clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 17 1 - 180) applicable to shipping papers. In your letter, you state that you client transports "Sulfuric acid with not more than 51% acid," (UN2796) by highway with other materials not subject to the HMR. You ask whether the requirements specified under 8 172.20 1 (a)(l)(ii) and (iii) apply if the shipping description of the hazardous material is the first entry on the shipping paper as required by 8 172.201(a)(l)(i). The answer is no. Section 172.201 (a)(l) authorizes hazardous and non- hazardous materials to be described on the same shipping paper provided that the hazardous material description entry: (1) is entered first (8 172.201(a)(l)(i)); or (2) is entered in a color that clearly contrasts with any description on the shipping paper of a non- hazardous material 8 172.20 1 (a)(l)(ii)); or (3) is identified by the entry of an "X" placed before the proper shipping name in a column captioned "HM." The " X may be replaced by "RQ," is appropriate (8 172.201 (a)(l)(iii)). <<>> You also ask whether there are any load-specific conditions, such as a shipment in a quantity requiring a placard, that would require an 'X" in the HM Column as specified in 172.201(a)(l)(iii.). There are no load-specific conditions that would require an 'X" in the HM Column as specified in $ 1 72.20 1 (a)(l )(iii). I hope this information is helpful. Sincerely, J@ . ale, hief, Standards Development &lice of Hazardous Materials Standards <<>> Z 172 162 Drakeford, Carolyn From: Mark Yannett [Mark.Yannett@erm.com] Sent: \Monday, March 10,2008 2:23 PM % I72 -201 To: Drakeford, Carolyn Subject: RE: Information Center Comments/Questions 5 h ;ppi~g h p r s 0s -0 Oh5 Many thanks to the quick response -- your e-mail inquiry system works very well ... Below is my contact information . . . Thanks again, Mark Yannett Senior Project Manager Strategic Services & Product Sustainability ERM, Inc. 700 W. Virginia Street Suite 601 Milwaukee, WI 53204 ----- Original Message----- From: INFOCNTR@dot.gov [mailto:INFOCNTR@dot.gov] Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 1:19 PM To: carolyn.drakeford@dot.gov Cc: Mark Yannett Subject: FW: Information Center Comments/Questions Carolyn, discussed below. This gentleman would like an official written letter of interpretation on the issue Thanks, Rob ----- Original Message----- From: mark.yannett@erm.com [mailto:mark.yannett@erm.com] Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 1:58 PM To: INFOCNTR Subject: Information Center Comments/Questions Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by Mark Yannett (mark.yannett@erm.com) on Monday, March 10, 2008 at 13:58:15. Email: mark. yannett@erm.com Name: Mark Yannett Category: Hazardous Materials Table, Special Provisions, Hazardous Materials Communications Organization: ERM, Inc. <<>> State: Wisconsin Phone: 414-977-4711 Comments: The following is a request on behalf of my client for your interpretation of the current text from the published USDOT HMR related to requirements in 49 CFR 172.201 for preparation of Shipping Papers. For purposes of this request, please consider the following context for the same, single shipment to which 49 CFR 172.201(a) reflects: "UN2796 Items" - proper fill-volume of acid in polyethylene bottles in a shipping carton offered as regulated hazardous material for highway-mode transport (not Small Quantity, Limited Quantity or ORM-D). "Other Items" - goods shipped as non-hazardous or otherwise not regulated per the HMR, such as a dry battery, in a shipping carton offered for highway-mode transport. At question for this shipping context is: 1. If the shipping descriptions on the Bill of Lading are placed in an order of information according to 49 CFR 172.201(a) (1) (i), such that UN2796 Items are listed above the Other Items, then is it correct that listing options in 172.201 (a) (1) (ii) and (iii) do not apply? 2. If the shipping descriptions on the Bill of Lading meet 49 CFR 172.201(a)(l)(i), are there any load-specific conditions that trigger the need to simultaneously mark the HM- Column with an "X" per 49 CFR 172.201(a) (1) (iii), such as if the quantity of UN2796 Items exceeds 1,001 lbs and the load must be placarded? Please reply via a written, e-mail response to my attention. Thank you. This message contains information which may be confidential, proprietary, privileged, or otherwise protected by law from disclosure or use by a third party. If you have received this message in error, please contact us immediately and take the steps necessary to delete the message completely from your computer system. Thank you. Please visit ERM's web site: http://www.erm.com ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `513dd04d311dce5a66eb140e6a1ddd725383c7d5669f3c66371325dd8bf49299` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-23T15:19:57.009Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-08-0065` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "ERM, Inc." ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Mark Yannett" ], "refIds": [ "08-0065" ], "catalogDates": [ "2008-04-25" ], "catalogParts": [ 172 ], "catalogRowCount": 1, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/61921" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "172.201", "172.201(a)(l)(i)", "172.20" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172201" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2008/080065.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2008/080065.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2008/080065.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/08-0065-de2211751c.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "7d2b18860a68e970c4d982bc846902a2da2f4728fff47df071a3fc1826bcb208", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/08-0065-de2211751c.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "775dcb1ed95e3d6b62ca4b08536017e5729bf28c6db51b166a0cc980b39b6089", "pageCount": 4, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```