# Cart, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** 10-0123  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 2010-07-08

10-0123 response to Cart, Inc. concerning 173.202, 173.301.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
JUl - 8 L01lJ
Mr. Sam Cook
Product Manager
Cart, Inc.
1300 Airport Drive
Ballground, GA 30107
Ref. No.: 10-0123
Dear Mr. Cook,
This letter responds to your June 8, 2010 email regarding the transport oflive fish under the
Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically you request
confirmation on the use of DOT 4L cylinders to continuously feed tanks containing live fish.
As provided by § 173.302(c), an authorized cylinder containing oxygen continuously fed to tanks
containing live fish may be offered for transportation and transported in accordance with the
HMR. Cylinders containing non-liquefied compressed oxygen must be offered for transport in
accordance with the requirements of §§ 173.301, and 173.302. Refrigerated liquefied oxygen
must be offered for transport in accordance with the requirements of § 173.316. Authorized
cylinders containing oxygen, refrigerated liquid, used to supply oxygen to tanks for the transport
of live fish, are considered an integral part of a process system and are excepted from the HMR
under 173.320(b)(2).
I hope this answers your inquiry. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact
this office.
Charles E. Betts
~f, Standards Development
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards

<<<PAGE 2>>>

Lea V"l{
prakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) EkceOlons
~1'30~O
,
From: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) JO-o/Z3
Sent: Tuesday, June 08,20103:31 PM
To: Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)
Subject: FW: Request for a formal letter of interpretation
Carolyn,
Thanks,
Rob
A request for a formal written letter of interpretation.
From: COok, Sam [mailto:Sam.COok@chartindustries.com]
Sent: Tuesday, June 08, 20102:43 PM
To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)
Cc: Carey, Tom; Haukoos, Bill
Subject: Request for a formal letter of interpretation
To whom it may concern,
Based on a conversation that I had this morning with I\leal, one of your Transportation Specialist, I am requesting a
formal letter of interpretation regarding the use of DOT 4L liquid cylinders for the transportation of live fish. The live fish
are placed inside of large contained trailers and the liquid cylinders are used to bubble oxygen gas into the water to
keep the fish alive during transit. It varies by customer, but from our experience this application is serviced by both our
medium (MP) and high pressure (HP) liquid cylinders. The typical sizes are our 160 and 180 liter sizes. The normal
operating pressure for the MP cylinders is 125 psi and for the HP cylinder that pressure is 300 psi. Final line regulators
are used in both cases to reduce the trailer pressure to approximately 30 psi. This low pressure oxygen feeds a manifold
with multiple legs to make sure that the oxygen gas is "bubbled" evenly throughout the trailer bed. The cylinders are
secured to the trailer frame and labeled based on the guidelines of CFR 49.
In addition to Neal, I have spoken with several other Transportation Specialists that were familiar with our DOT 4L liquid
cylinders and the live fish transport application. There is general agreement that this is a "legal" use of DOT 4L cylinders
based on CFR 49 section 173.320 (B)(2) which states:
(b) The requirements of this sub-chapter ( section 173 ) do not apply to atmospheric gases and helium:
(2) When used in operation of a process system; such as a refrigeration system ( pressure may exceed
25.3psig ).
Even though we are not strictly obligated as a company to ensure that our customers are using our DOT 4lliquid
cylinders in DOT approved applications, we would like to help educate our them regarding the DOT's position regarding
this application. This will help ensure that the equipment is installed and operated correctly and safely. A formal letter of
interpretation is the important first step in starting this dialog. If you have any questions regarding this request, please
contact me using the info listed below. Thanks for your cooperation in this matter.
Sam Cook
Product Manager, D&S SPV
Chart Inc.
1300 Airport Drive
Ballground, GA 30107
Office: 770-720-6729
Cell: 404-643-3681
E-mail: sam.cook@chart-ind.com
1

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2010/100123.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `044382eebfbdc9d821d3c3f1b1704ca7f669d22d686ccad8003cfca195cddad8`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-22T13:54:54.495Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-10-0123`

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