# Donovan Marine, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 12-0160 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2012-10-18 12-0160 response to Donovan Marine, Inc. concerning 172.101, 173.309, 173.315, 177.817. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington. DC 20590 OCT 1 8 2012 Mr. Keith Mauer Donovan Marine, Inc. 6545 Trade Center Drive Jacksonville, FL 32254 Reference No. 12-0160 Dear Mr. Mauer: This is in response to your e-mail requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR 171-180) applicable to the transportation of"'Fire extinguishers containing compressed or liquefied gas,'' UN 1044. Your questions are paraphrased and answered as follows: Q1. Is a hazardous article that is described in accordance with the § 172.10 I Hazardous Material Table (HMT) as "Fire extinguisher, 2.2, UNI044" considered a limited quantity under the HMR when being transported by highway or rail? Al. The answer is yes, provided the fire extinguisher meets the requirements in § 173.309(a) through (a)(3)(iv). The definition for '"limited quantity'' in ~ J 7 l.S states that "when specified as such in a section applicable to a particular material. means the maximum amount of a hazardous material for which there is a specific labeling or packaging exception." Therefore, a fire extinguisher that meets the limited quantity requirements in § 173.309(a) through (a)(3)(iv) meets the definition of limited quantity in § 171.8. Q2. Are such limited quantity shipments permitted to be marked with the limilcd quantity marking in accordance with§ 172.315(a)? A2. For transportation by highway or rail, limited quantity shipments of fire extinguishers are permitted to be marked with the limited quantity marking in accordance with§ 172.315(a). Q3. Are limited quantity packages of fire extinguishers eligible for the exception to ihe shipping paper requirement provided in§ l72.200(b)(3)? I refer to a corrections letter, Reference Number ll-0189R, dated April 2, 2012, which states that limited <<>> quantity packages of fire extinguishers are not excepted from shipping paper requirements and ask whether that letter is correct. A3. Limited quantity packages of fire extinguishers are not eligible for the exception to the shipping paper requirement provided in § 172.200(b )(3). The letter, Reference Number ll-0189R is accurate and corrects a previous interpretation letter, which indicated that limited quantities of fire extinguishers are excepted from shipping paper requirements. For transportation by rail and highway, limited quantities of fire extinguishers are not excepted from shipping paper requirements. See§ l73.309(a), which states that "Shipments also are not subject to subpart F of part 172 of this subchapter [placarding], lo part 174 of this subchapter except§ 174.24 [shipping papers] or to part 177 of this subchapter except§ 177.817 [shipping papers]. Section 174.24 contains the requirements for shipping papers for rail; § 177.817 contains the shipping paper requirements for highway. As stated in the corrections letter, Reference Number ll-0 l89R, the shipping paper requirements specified in § 173.309(a) take precedence over the shipping paper exception for limited quantity packages in§ 172.200(b )(3). 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: Sent: To: Subject: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Monday, July 23, 2012 9:34AM Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) FW: Limited Quantities of Fire Extinguishers Clarification fJleLJhire ~113· 30C{ t:"ire ~hng~~~her.s 12- {) 100 Carolyn, We received the following request for a formal letter of interpretation. Thanks, Victoria From: kmauer@donovanmarine.com [mailto: kmauer@donovanmarine.com] Sent: Monday, July 23, 2012 9:12 AM To: PHMSA HM InfoCenter Subject: Limited Quantities of Fire Extinguishers Clarification This e-mail is requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) as they pertain to UN 1044, Fire Extinguishers. I have called the Hazardous Materials Info center 1-800-467-4922 on 3 different occasions and asked if highway or rail shipments of fire extinguishers conforming to the requirements of§ 173.309(a) meet the definition of limited quantity in §171.8. Response given was (yes, in order to qualify under the limited quantity provision, a fire extinguisher must meet the requirements contained in § 173.309(a). If the container is packaged and offered for transportation in accordance with § 173.309(a) the limited quantity provision applies.) I also asked whether such shipments are permitted to be marked with the limited quantity marking in accordance with§ 172.315(a) and are eligible for the exception to the shipping paper requirement provided in § 172.200(b)(3). Response given was (For domestic transportation, as defined by§ 171.8, by highway or rail, such limited quantity shipments of fire extinguishers are permitted to be marked with the limited quantity marking in accordance with§ 172.315(a). Yes, these packages are excepted from the shipping paper requirements in 172.200(b)(3). I noticed a corrected Interpretation #11-0189R. Please advise back if this correction is correct. Our company has been shipping out according to the information given originally by the support team as well as by the original interpretation given in 11-0189 which we were advised to use that was originally published. Best Regards Keith Mauer Donovan Marine, Inc 6545 Trade Center Drive Jacksonville, Fl. 32254 Jacksonville Warehouse Manager 1 <<>> Hazardous Materials Coordinator Safety Coordinator 904-786-1295 904-786-2995 fax 904-521-1339 cell 2 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `e4b16236272067fd0b817119d24891382893137aea70b3180dbe2b5746474274` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-23T07:49:28.165Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-12-0160` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Donovan Marine, Inc." ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Keith Mauer" ], "refIds": [ "12-0160" ], "catalogDates": [ "2012-10-18" ], "catalogParts": [ 172, 173, 177 ], "catalogRowCount": 4, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/53056" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "172.101", "173.309", "173.309(a)", "173.315", "177.817", "172.10", "171.8", "172.315(a)", "172.200", "174.24" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172101", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/173309", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/173315", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/177817" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120160.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120160.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120160.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/12-0160-a411f82f94.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "5e07a85d91ff5300b1722df8e62378eef1b3ad0edaeed0a45325db59b6db1b73", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/12-0160-a411f82f94.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "faed9aad9d8515d1ab48d471c1abb950d11ec9de9cb5e662df394a46c3b1dd34", "pageCount": 4, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```