# Brothers Group, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** 12-0085  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 2012-08-22

12-0085 response to Brothers Group, Inc. concerning 172.504, 172.704.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

U.S. Department
of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety
Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
AUG 2 2 2012
Mr. Kenneth Kelton
Safety Director
Brothers Group, Inc.
513 East Desoto Avenue
St. Louis, MO 63147
Reference No. 12-0085
Dear Mr. Kelton:
This is in response to your letter postmarked March 21, 2012 requesting clarification of the
Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to marking and
placarding of a Class 9 (miscellaneous) hazardous material shipment, and hazardous
material endorsement requirements on a commercial driver's license (CDL).
In your letter, you describe a shipment that consists of 72, 55-gallon drums of"UN 3082,
Environmentally hazardous substances, liquid, n.o.s. (2,6-Di-tert-butylphenol),
9 (miscellaneous), PG III, Marine Pollutant," has a total weight of 34,603 pounds, and is
being transported in a motor vehicle trailer from St. Louis, MO, to Houston, TX. The drums
will be loaded into another container in Houston and transported by motor vehicle to the
coast for eventual overseas shipment via vessel transportation. Based on a
September 14, 2011letter my agency issued under Reference No. 11-0171, you state it is
your understanding that because the shipment you describe is not regulated as a hazardous
material when transported domestically, your company is not required to place placards on
all four sides of the trailer or container used to transport this shipment while in the United
States. You further state it is your understanding that the container of drums must be
placarded when offered for transportation by vessel.
Your understanding is correct. Marine pollutants transported in non-bulk packages are
excepted from regulation under the HMR unless they are transported by vessel or meet a
hazard class definition (see§ 171.4(c)). Therefore, marine pollutants are not subject to the
requirements for shipping papers, markings, labels or placards when transported by
highway, rail or air. However, please note that §§ 171.22( d) and 171.25( a) provide that a
hazardous material subject to the requirements of the International Maritime Dangerous
Goods (IMDG) Code, that is offered or intended for eventual transportation by vessel, but
not subject to the HMR may be transported in the U.S. when described, marked and labeled
in accordance with the IMDG code.
In addition, under § 172.504(f)(9), a Class 9 placard is not required for domestic
transportation. The HMR defines "domestic transportation'' as specified in § 171.8, to
include not only transportation exclusively within the United States, but also that domestic

<<<PAGE 2>>>

portion of "international transportation" which occurs between places within the United
States. Therefore, your driver is not required to display Class 9 placards on a vehicle that
contains Class 9 hazardous material while it is within the United States but, if applicable, the
vehicle may be required to be marked. Section 172.301(a)(3) requires a transport vehicle or
freight container that encloses 4,000 kg (8,820 pounds) or more of a single hazardous
material in non-bulk packages when the entire shipment has the same proper shipping name
and is loaded at the same facility to be marked on each side and each end with the
identification number of the hazardous material. Also, drums containing Class 9 material
must be marked with the applicable proper shipping name and identification number and
labeled with the Class 9 hazard warning label to comply with§§ 172.301(a) and
172.400(a)(5) of the HMR.
You also state it is your understanding from the Reference No. 11-0171letter that a hazmat
endorsement is not needed on a CDL when the material you described is transported
domestically. Your understanding is correct. Under the HMR, a driver is not required to
have a CDL with a hazmat endorsement to transport a Class 9 material by motor vehicle in
the United States, even when the eventual destination of the shipment is outside of the
United States. However, the HMR does require that the driver must receive hazardous
materials training (see§§ 177.800(c) and 177.816). This training must include general
awareness, function-specific, safety, and security awareness training as specified in
§ 172. 704( a) of the HMR, as well as driver training in the applicable requirements of
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSR; 49 CFR parts 390 through 397) and the
procedures necessary for the safe operation of that motor vehicle. Training conducted to
satisfy compliance with the current Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA)
requirements for a CDL with a tank vehicle or hazardous materials endorsement, may be
used to satisfy the training requirements set forth in§ 172.704 to the extent that such
training addresses the training components specified in§ 172.704(a). Where this training
does not satisfy the HMR, the employer or self-employed person performing these tasks
must provide additional training that satisfies these requirements (see § 177 .816( c) and (d)).
In addition, CDLs and hazardous materials endorsements are regulated by FMCSA in
accordance with 49 CFR Part 383. Questions regarding FMCSA regulations should be
directed to the appropriate FMCSA field office. A list of FMCSA field offices and contact
information is available at "http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/about/
contact/offices/displayfieldroster.asp," or you may contact FMCSA at their headquarters
offices in Washington, D.C., at (202) 366-6121.
I hope this satisfies your request.
Sincerely,
~/~~
T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division
2

<<<PAGE 3>>>

BROTHERS GROUP INC.
513 EAST DESOTO AVENUE
PO BOX 470218
ST. LOUIS, MO 63147
314 231 0805 FAX 314 231 6875
USDOT
PHMSA Office Of Hazardous Materials Standards
Attn: PHH-10
East Building
1200New Jersey Ave, SE.
Washington, DC 20590-0001
Dear Sir Or Madam
I am requesting a clarification for a shipment of 72 drums 34603 lbs of UN 3082, ENVIRONMENTALLY
HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES,LIQUID,N.O.S.
( 2,6-Dl-TERT-BUTYLPHENOL) 9, III MARINE POLLUTANT
This shipment was loaded at one facility with no other product on the trailer. The shipment is going from St
Louis Mo to Houston TX and from there it will be loaded on a container and taken to the coast for
shipment over seas. I know it must be placard for the vessel over seas. I believe this shipment can be
transported to Houston TX without placards according to 49 CFR 172.504 and I believe that 49CFR
172.301 (3) does not apply to this shipment because this is not consider a hazardous material when shipped
domestically.( 172-301 (3) Large Quantities Of A Single Hazardous Material In Non Bulk Packages)
sometimes referred to as the 8820 lb rule. According to PHMSA Interpretation # 11-0171 the driver does
not need the hazmat endorsement to transport domestically is another reason to believe that I would not be
required to mark the trailer on all 4 sides. If it is decided that I need to mark the trailer does the driver then
need the hazmat endorsement? Thank you for your help on this matter.
BROTHERS GROUP INC
513 EAST DESOTO AVE
STLOUIS MO 63147
KENNETH KELTON
~\!ZC :;. __ ~!~t:/:::i'
SAFTEY DIRECTOR
314-805-5003
e-mail kkelton@brotherstransfer.com

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120085.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `57734f5c3fd536dbacf39edb92767099f58196e01dd2686065d0cb505ebbec20`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-22T07:21:16.042Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-12-0085`

### Source metadata

```json
{
  "materialSubtype": "interpretation",
  "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials",
  "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf",
  "companies": [
    "Brothers Group, Inc."
  ],
  "individuals": [
    "Mr. Kenneth Kelton"
  ],
  "refIds": [
    "12-0085"
  ],
  "catalogDates": [
    "2012-08-22"
  ],
  "catalogParts": [
    172
  ],
  "catalogRowCount": 2,
  "sourceRecordUrls": [
    "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/50311"
  ],
  "linkedAttachmentUrls": [],
  "unavailableResponseUrls": [],
  "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [],
  "citedSections": [
    "172.504",
    "172.504(f)(9)",
    "172.704",
    "171.4(c)",
    "171.22",
    "171.25",
    "171.8",
    "172.301(a)(3)",
    "172.400(a)(5)",
    "177.800(c)",
    "177.816"
  ],
  "catalogPageUrls": [
    "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172504",
    "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172704"
  ],
  "pdfUrls": [
    "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120085.pdf"
  ],
  "representations": [
    {
      "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120085.pdf",
      "detailUrl": null,
      "detailHtmlPath": null,
      "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120085.pdf",
      "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/12-0085-d3da2dd552.pdf",
      "pdfArtifactSha256": "8d5aeb1068e00ad213f33d070d495cf758a6f04214082e3f37c255126a9a085c",
      "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/12-0085-d3da2dd552.v2.txt",
      "extractedTextSha256": "29771cc088fb7839d0f5ca225668249df9d1bdaf93d01667b291398a6ec1a474",
      "pageCount": 3,
      "extractionVersion": 2
    }
  ],
  "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.",
  "jurisdiction": "US"
}
```
