# Sea-Land Chemical Co. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 11-0294 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2012-04-12 11-0294 response to Sea-Land Chemical Co. concerning 172.406. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 APR 1 2 2012 Mr. Kerry McMahon Sea-Land Chemical Co. 821 Westpoint Parkway Westlake, OH 44145 Ref. No.: 11-0294 Dear Mr. McMahon: This is in response to your e-mail requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CPR, Parts 171-180) applicable to the placement of labels. Your questions are paraphrased and answered as follows: Ql. What does the word "near" mean in regards to the requirement in§ 172.406 to place a hazard label "nearthe proper shipping name marking"? Al. As specified in § 172.406, each label required must be printed on or affixed to a surface (other than the bottom) of the package or containment device containing the hazardous material, and be located on the same surface of the package and near the proper shipping name marking, if the package dimensions are adequate. Additionally, a label must be clearly visible and may not be obscured by markings or attachments. The HMR does not specifically define "near" with respect to § 172.406; however, current reference materials define "near" as "adjacent." Q2. On a drum, is it permissible to have the proper shipping name marking on the opposite side of the hazard label? A2. The answer is generally no, as the label must be located on the same surface of the package and near the proper shipping name marking, if the package dimensions are adequate. The intent of § 172.406( a )(1 )(ii) is for labels and markings to be near each other, and a drum's dimensions should be adequate to achieve that objective. I hope this information is helpful. Please contact this office should you have additional questions. Sincerely, T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) From: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Sent: To: Subject: Friday, November 18, 2011 4:17 PM Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) FW: Request for formal Letter of Interpretation Hi Carolyn, We received the following request for a letter of interpretation. Thanks, Victoria Victoria Lehman Hazmat Information Center (HMIC) http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/info-center (202) 366-1035 From: Kerry McMahon [mailto:kerry.mcmahon@sealandchem.coml Sent: Friday, November 18, 2011 3:31 PM To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Subject: Request for formal Letter of Interpretation Good Afternoon, Following up on my conversation with Andrew, I'd like to request a formal Letter of Interpretation regarding what DOT means by "near" in regards to the requirement in 172.406 to place a hazard label "near the proper shipping name marking." I've seen an interpretation stating that "next to" equals within six inches for placing a subsidiary label next to a primary label. Similar guidance for "near" would be helpful. A related question regards the requirement in 172.406 to place a hazard label "on the same surface ofthe package as the proper shipping name marking" as this relates to a drum. Is it permissible to have the proper shipping name marking on the opposite side of a drum from the hazard label? Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, 'l.Vrry ~c~afion Sea-Land Chemical Co. 821 Westpoint Parkway Westlake, OH 44145 Ph: 440-871-7887 ext. 7106 Fax: 440-871-7949 www.sealandchem.com ===================================================== ~ Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail. 1 <<>> NOTE: The information in this email may be confidential and legally privileged. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not read, use or disseminate the information; please advise the sender immediately by reply email and delete this message and any attachments without retaining a copy. Although this email and any attachments are believed to be free of any virus or other defect that may affect any computer system into which it is received and opened, it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that it is virus free and no responsibility is accepted by the Sea-Land Chemical Co. for any loss or damage arising in any way from its use. 2 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `403ef65121485a2ff89efb1519ab42ac6bdb617de77026c02955ce4d1d2aab1a` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-23T14:47:27.671Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-11-0294` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Sea-Land Chemical Co." ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Kerry McMahon" ], "refIds": [ "11-0294" ], "catalogDates": [ "2012-04-12" ], "catalogParts": [ 172 ], "catalogRowCount": 1, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/51726" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "172.406" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172406" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110294.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110294.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110294.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/11-0294-0145a51be0.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "815aeafb3880356231d55a1a230ea261cc1e7b15070a85bfefe67a60284f80f0", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/11-0294-0145a51be0.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "75b03691d9bd4d08aa086d83a1627fecda8469d6b3c3c8935d0ce7f271b2d733", "pageCount": 3, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```