# Mr. Larry A. Berg — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 08-0142 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2008-06-16 08-0142 response to Mr. Larry A. Berg concerning 173.22. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration JUN 1 6 2008 Mr. Larry A. Berg Manager, Quality Systems Celtech Corporation 1300 Terminal Drive Carlsbad, NM 88220 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Ref. No.: 08-0142 Dear Mr. Berg: This is in response to your May 1 5,2008 letter regarding the transportation of" 10 10 lube oil" in cargo tanks under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171 - 180). In the scenario described in your letter, you use the lube oil to test the tank, piping, and pump for leaks. You then drain the tank, which leaves five to ten gallons of residual lube oil in the tank and service equipment. You ask if these cargo tank motor vehicles are regulated when transported in commerce. Under $ 173.22 of the HMR, it is the shipper's responsibility to properly classify a hazardous material. This office generally does not perform this function. However, based on the information provided in your letter, it is the opinion of this Office that the " 10 10 lube oil" has a flash point above 200°F and is not a flammable or combustible liquid. Therefore, provided the lube oil does not meet any other hazard class, in your scenario, the cargo tank motor vehicles are not subject to the HMR. I hope this information is helpful. If you have m h e r questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Hattie L. Mitchell Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Office of Hazardous Materials Standards <<>> App1 ,;&;I2 Drakeford, Carolyn 08-01 .-.--..-..,...-,---,,m ~ --,- * -.*-..-.A" ...-,,, ~ --,\" .-.--..-," ,-" ~ . ..... -. ... ". .". .".. -..... ".,. .. -"-. "-" " , ,,,., " ~ * ~, . . " "....-....,.a ",. . .". ~.. From: INFOCNTR Sent: Friday, May 16,2008 10:33 AM To: Drakeford, Carolyn Cc: 'Iberg@celtechspace.com' Subject: FW: Request for information regarding transportation of 1010 lube oil From: Larry Berg [mailto: 1 Sent: Thursday, May 15, 2008 5:10 PM To: INFOCNTR Cc: Rudy Juarez; Jeanna Adamo Subject: Request for information regarding transportation of 1010 lube oil Greetings, I request an interpretation, and written response to this inquiry. Celtech manufactures ground support equipment for jet and turbo-prop engine testing for the military and commercial business. We're considering a change in a test procedure to use standard 101 0 lube oil (e.g. MIL-L-608 1) instead of the currently used water, when testing our fuel trailers. For functional and leak testing, we plan to run about 300 to 400 gallons of 10 10 lube oil through the tank, piping and pump, located on the fuel trailer. After a full system drain, the fuel trailer could potentially still have anywhere from about 5 to 10 gallons of residual 101 0 lube oil left inside the unit. These fuel trailers are then transported by hired commercial truckers to locations throughout the United States. I contacted the US DOT Hazardous Materials and Safety Division via telephone this morning to discuss this change in our testing process. We are concerned about the trucks legally hauling these fuel trailers that could contain lube oil. I was told by an HMSD staff member that 10 10 lube oil is not classified as a hazardous material in regards to transportation, thus not requiring any special permits or certifications to transport that small of an amount. The end-user (USAF) would then mix their fuel with the lube oil to dilute it, and eventually burn it off during engine test. We would like to be pro-active in our approach to safety, and abide by the law. Therefore, I request a written statement to confirm what I was told over the telephone today. We intend to provide a copy of your letter to all the truck drivers, in the event where they might need to deal with highway patrol or the DOT. Our main customer is the U.S. Military (Air Force), and we have a very tight delivery schedule to keep. Anything you can do to help expedite this request will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. LanyJ. Berg Manager, Quality Systems CELTECH CORPORATION 1300 Terminal Dr. Carlsbad, NM 88220 Tel: 575-887-2044 x242 Cell: 575-499-3335 Fax: 575-885-6976 w~w~w.celtech.corn PI,EASF, NOTE AliEA CODE CHANGE TO 575 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `d1425507773729eabe837e3df72bb1b735250ceb110b97d02e0972dda21eb5ee` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-24T10:51:37.117Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-08-0142` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Mr. Larry A. 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