# Bureau of Explosives, TTC, Inc — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** 12-0183  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 2012-10-31

12-0183 response to Bureau of Explosives, TTC, Inc concerning 172.327, 173.115.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

U.S. Department
of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety
Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
OCT 3 12012
Mr. Paul Draper
Chief Inspector
Bureau of Explosives, TTC, Inc ..
205 Kayla Lane
Longview, TX 75602
Ref. No.: 12-0i83
Dear Mr. Draper:
This responds to your August 19, 2012letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous
Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CPR Parts 171-180) applicable to petroleum sour crude
oil in bulk packaging. You ask about a shipment of petroleum sour crude oil containing
hydrogen sulfide (i.e., sour crude oil) in sufficient concentration that the vapors may
present an inhalation hazard, thus requiring the material to be marked, labeled, tagged, or
signed to warn of the toxic inhalation hazard as required by § 172.327. Specifically, you
ask if the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) defines the term
"sufficient concentration" for the purpose of determining whether the petroleum sour crude
oil must be marked as an inhalation hazard.
The answer is no. PHMSA does not establish a concentration level for hydrogen sulfide in
petroleum sour crude oil in order to determine if the vapors are an inhalation hazard. To
determine whether petroleum sour crude oil presents an inhalation hazard, it must be tested
to determine if the material meets division 2.3 (gas poisonous by inhalation) as defined in
§ 173.115(c) of the HMR. If the vapors in the petroleum sour crude oil meet the definition
of a division 2.3 material, you must follow the marking and labeling requirements of
§ 172.327.
I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division

<<<PAGE 2>>>

Drakeford, Carol
From: Betts, Charles (PHMSA)
Sent:
To:
Subject: Sunday, August 19, 2012 8:22PM
Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)
Fw: "H2S" Concentration in Sour Crude Oil
Carolyn-
Please log and assign.
Thanks
-----Original Message-----
From: '''-'""·'·"'-'"-'-"'<I"'=·-~--.-'""''"''-'~"""'·-'"" ~'-'··'·"''"-=·'"·'';,;"="---=-'"'"'-~·.:-'-·"""''-"""'·''·'·'-'"
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2012 09:51AM
To: Betts, Charles (PHMSA)
Subject: Fw: "H2S" Concentration in Sour Crude Oil
Good morning Mr. Betts, I hope all is well with you. As noted below, industry and the Bureau of Explosives Inspectors
would like a better understanding in regards to the the new regulation stated in 49 CFR Section 172.327. We would
appreciate an official letter of interpretation (in regards to the intent of this requirement) so we can pass this
information along to our customers who do ship petroleum sour crude. We would rather be pro-active with this new
marking requirement, rather than waiting on an individual to be harmed by vapors that do meet the criteria of a PIH and
the tank car not marked as stated. Thanks for your time.
Paul Draper, Chief Inspector
Bureau of Explosives, TIC, Inc.
205 Kayla Lane
Longview, Texas 75602
Cell: 225-326-9065
-----Forwarded by Paul Draper/TIC/AARon 08/19/2012 08:40AM-----
From: Sam Chapman/TIC/ AAR
To: Paul Draper/TIC/AAR@AAR WASHINGTON
Date: 08/18/2012 08:44 PM
Subject:Fw: "H2S" Concentration in Sour Crude Oil
From:
To:
Date: 08/08/2012 03:45 PM
Subject:RE: "H2S" Concentration in Sour Crude Oil
Paul,
I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. Per your question below, the explanation that I have received from the
chemists here in our office is that the vapors need to be tested in accordance with 49 CFR 173.115(c) in order to
determine if the vapors meet the definition of poisonous by
1
..

<<<PAGE 3>>>

inhalation. If the vapors meet this definition, then you must follow the
requirements of 49 CFR 172.327. If you need an official letter of interpretation on DOT letterhead, please feel free to
send a request to:
Mr. Charles Betts
Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards U.S. DOT/PHMSA (PHH-10)
1200 New Jersey Avenue
East Building, 2nd Floor
Washington, DC 20590
Thanks,
Cheryl
Cheryl West Freeman, P.E.
General Engineer
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Office of Hazardous Materials Safety Engineering and Research
Division, PHH-20
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
(202)366-4545
-----Original Message-----
From: ,-"- """"""-----'""'·'''-L'.'-''-'--'<'--"'" "-"-'•' "'·' :: .•. L,_,;'"'"-·-··c: ··'·'"': ·;c'""-~~ ,,_
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2012 9:06 PM
To: Freeman, Cheryl (PHMSA)
Cc:
''·'""--'·--·- ··":·
Subject: "H2S" Concentration in Sour Crude Oil
As we discussed at the Tank Car Committee meeting this week in Chicago, there is a concern in the chemical industry in
regards to 49 CFR Section, which states;
172.327 Petroleum sour crude oil in bulk packaging. A bulk packaging used to transport petroleum crude oil containing
hydrogen sulfide (i.e. sour crude oil) in sufficient concentration that vapors evolved from the crude oil may present an
inhalation hazard must include a marking, label, tag, or sign to warn of the toxic hazard as follows: see (a), (b), & (c).
The question that industry and the BOE needs answered is What would be considered to be "sufficient concentration"?
We would appreciate your comments and advising of such. Thanks.
Paul Draper, Chief Inspector
Bureau of Explosives, TIC, Inc.
205 Kayla Lane
Longview, Texas 75602
Cell: 225-326-9065
2
-·-
--~-- -~----·---------·------------

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120183.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `4e9aafc5d4652c8f1d67bb64f452c66cad2f2f85944e6fa583192a0181aa66b4`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-25T04:14:03.384Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-12-0183`

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