# Occidental Chemical Company — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** 13-0051  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 2014-02-18

13-0051 response to Occidental Chemical Company concerning 173.13, 173.6.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

U.S. Department
of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety
Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
FEB 1 8 2014
Mr. Norman Dodson
Technical Services
Occidental Chemical Company
6200 South Ridge Road
Wichita, KS 67026
Reference No. 13-0051
Dear Mr. Dodson:
This is in response to your letter, e-mails, and telephone conversations with a member of my
staff requesting that Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
reconsider its response in its December 11, 2012 clarification letter, Reference No. 12-0208,
to you concerning the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180)
applicable to the Materials of Trade (MOTs) regulations. Specifically, you ask if the portion
of transportation where your customers' employees transport chemical samples by private
motor vehicle from their places of business to the facilities of companies they hire (e.g.,
FedEx) to package and prepare these samples for transportation on your customers' behalf
allows the samples to qualify as MOTs.
In addition, you state the following:
• Your company supplies these products to its customers in bulk packages and the
samples returned to your company are packaged in quantities of one pint or less;
• The chemical products your company supplies its customers meet the following
hazard class definitions: Divisions 5.1 (oxidizer) Packing Group (PG) II, and 6.1
(poisonous) PG II and III, and Class 8 (corrosive) PG II and III; and
• Your customers' employees are not hazmat trained in conformance with Subpart H
(Training) of Part 172 the HMR, and do not possess the packaging and other materials
needed to prepare these samples for transportation.
The answer is no. The intent of the MOTs exception is to provide relief for a private carrier
that permits him or her to transport by motor vehicle certain hazardous materials, other than
hazardous waste, that are used in direct support of the carrier's principal business other than
transportation (see§ 171.8). Although the HMR do not specifically define "direct support of
a principal business that is other than transportation," it is this Office's intent that this phrase
means the company is transporting its own business products for the purpose of carrying out
the activities of its business and not to offer these materials for transportation. Therefore, a
hazardous material prepared in conformance with the MOTs requirements no longer qualifies

<<<PAGE 2>>>

as a MOTs the moment a shipper offers it for transportation in a manner not authorized under
§ 173.6. However, the HMR permits the hazard classes you described, with certain
exceptions, to be transported by motor vehicle, rail car, and aircraft, in combination
packagings that comply with the provisions in § 173.13. Packagings that comply with
§ 173.13 are excepted from the labeling, placarding, and segregation requirements of the
HMR. Please note that this exception does not permit materials that are poisonous by
inhalation to be transported by motor vehicle, railcar, or aircraft. Also, while employees that
transport hazardous materials under the MOTs exception must be trained on and comply only
with the MOTs requirements prescribed in§ 173.6, employees that transport hazardous
materials in conformance with§ 173.13 must be hazmat trained in conformance with 49 CFR
Part 172, Subpart H (Training).
I hope this satisfies your request.
Sincerely,
T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division
2

<<<PAGE 3>>>

Edmonson
9173~"
Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Attachments: fVl cui-en<& f 6 r Tv-a.c{e
INFOCNTR (PHMSA)
Friday, February 22, 2013 9:56AM
Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)
FW: Appeal of Letter of Interpretation
060075.pdf; Oxy Letter of Interpretation. pdf; Request for formal letter of interpretation
-----Original Message-----
From: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2013 1:29 PM
To: 'norman_dodson@oxy.com'
Subject: FW: Appeal of Letter of Interpretation
Hi Carolyn,
We received the following request for a formal letter of interpretation.
Thanks,
Victoria
-----Original Message-----
From: Norman Dodson@oxy.com [mailto:Norman Dodson@oxy.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2013 10:45 AM
To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)
Subject: Appeal of Letter of Interpretation
I requested a formal letter of interpretation regarding 49 CFR 173.6 Materials of Trade exceptions in September of 2012
(see attached email). I received the formal letter dated December 11, 2012 in December. Mr. Foster, Chief of the
Regulatory Review and Renivention Branch, essentially denies my company's ability to use this exception to enable our
customers to transport samples of our product to a certified packager of Hazardous Goods in a private vehicle. The
purpose of doing so is to send the sample to us for analysis. I have attached Mr. Foster's letter.
Mr. Foster cites as the reason for the denial of this exception is that the samples we are having our customers transport
are being transported solely for the purpose of being packaged for shipment. Not in direct support of their business. I
wish to state that our customers are transporting these samples in support of their business because the product is not
performing correctly and therefore has disrupted their process. For this reason, they must send it to us for analysis. Since
they have no one certified to do this correctly, it must be transported to someone who can.
I would like to respectfully appeal this decision, and site as an example that we can use this exemption, another attached
letter of interpretation to West Marine Products Inc. in June of 2006, reference No. 06-0075. I cite as an example, the first
question that is answered yes. OxyChem's letter of interpretation is reference no. 12-0208. Please let me know your
decision as soon as possible. Thanks and best regards.
Norman Dodson
Technical Services
OxyChem
Office: 316-529-7577
Fax: 713-985-1507
1

<<<PAGE 4>>>

The information contained in this message may be confidential and/or privileged. This message is intended to be
reviewed by the individual or organization named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified
that any review, dissemination or copying of this message or the information contained herein and in its attachments, if
any, is prohibited. If you have received this message in error, please immediately notify the sender by return e-mail and
delete this message and attachments from your system.
2
------------
-------~------------

<<<PAGE 5>>>

U.S. Department
of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety
Administration
i200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
DEC 1 1 2012
Mr. Norman Dodson
Occidental Chemical Company
6200 South Ridge Road
Wichita, KS 67026
Reference No. 12-0208
Dear Mr. Dodson:
This is in response to your September 14, 2012 e-mail requesting clarification of the
exceptions for Materials of Trade (MOTs) under§ 173.6 of the Hazardous Materials
Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). In your letter, you state that to analyze the
quality of the chemicals your company supplies to its customers, these customers send
samples of these chemicals in amounts of one pint or less to your company for testing.
You state customers return the following materials to your company for testing:
1) UN 1496 Sodium Chlorite, 5.1 (oxidizer), PG II
2) UN 1593 Dichloromethane, 6.1 (poisonous), PG III
3) UN 1789 Hydrochloric acid, 8 (corrosive), PG II and III
4) UN 1846 Carbon tetrachloride, 6.1, PG II
5) UN 1888 Chloroform, 6.1, PG III
6) UN 1897 Tetrachloroethylene, 6.1, PG III
7) UN 1908 Chlorite solution, 8, PG II and III (the primary material being
shipped)
You also state some of your customers do not have employees trained to prepare and offer
hazardous materials for transport in conformance with the HMR, but a carrier informed you
that your customers can transport their chemicals as MOTs by motor vehicle to the carrier
for its staff to properly package and transport because your customers are not transporting
the samples for commercial purposes. You ask if this statement is correct. The answer is no.
A "Material of trade" is a hazardous material, other than a hazardous waste, that is carried on
a motor vehicle: (1) for the purpose of protecting the health and safety of the motor vehicle
operator or passengers; (2) for the purpose of supporting the operation or maintenance of a
motor vehicle (including its auxiliary equipment); or (3) by a private motor carrier
(including vehicles operated by a rail carrier) in direct support of a principal business that is
other than transportation by motor vehicle (see§ 171.8). Your customers are transporting
chemical samples to the carrier solely for the purpose of offering them for transportation in

<<<PAGE 6>>>

commerce, not to perform tasks that are in direct support of a business that is other than
transportation by motor vehicle, criteria (3) in the definition of "material of trade."
Therefore, the chemicals must be transported under other provisions in the HMR authorized
for the specific hazards each sample contains at the time it is offered for transportation.
I hope this satisfies your request.
Sincerely,
T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division
2

<<<PAGE 7>>>

Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Importance:
Norman_Dodson@oxy.com
Friday, September 14, 2012 4:20PM
INFOCNTR (PHMSA)
Request for formal letter of interpretation
High
I would like to request a formal letter of interpretation regarding 49 CFR 173.6 Materials of trade exceptions.
My company sells commodity chemicals to other companies. On occasion, questions arise regarding the quality of this
product making it necessary for the customer to need to ship a small sample ( 1 pint or less) to us for follow up analyses.
Problems arise when the customer does not have trained and certified people to prepare and offer for shipment, these
hazardous products. The next choice would be for them to take this one pint sample to a company that offers these
services. An example of such a company would be AirPack Inc. A problem may exist with this option if an employee of
the customer company places the sample in a motor vehicle and drives it to the packaging company. I have been told by
AirPack Inc., that they could lawfully do this under 49 CFR 173.6 as long as the container was of the proper integrity and
secured from shifting. The reasoning being that the customer is not transporting the samples over the road for
commercial purposes. The one pint chemical samples that these customers would be transporting would be the
following:
Chloroform II UN1888 //Toxic II 6.1 II PG Ill Dichloromethane // UN1593 //Toxic II 6.1 II PG Ill Tetrachloroethylene
//UN1897 //Toxic II 6.1 II PG Ill Carbon Tetrachloride II UN1846 //Toxic II 6.1 II PGII Sodium Chlorite II UN1496 II
Oxidizer II 5.1 II PGII
Chlorite Solution I I UN1908 I I Corrosive I I 8 I I PGII & Ill (This would be the primary one shipped)
Hydrochloric Acid// UN1789 II Corrosive II 8 II PG II & Ill
We would like to be able to advise these customers that they can legally transport these samples to a certified hazmat
packager for preparation for shipping. However, we need to know that we are interpreting this correctly. Your prompt
attention to this request would be greatly appreciated. You may send the letter to my attention at this email address, or
if you need to send it by regular mail delivery, the address is:
Attn: Norman Dodson
Occidental Chemical Co.
6200 South Ridge Road
Wichita, KS 67026
Thanks and best regards.
Norman Dodson
Technical Services
OxyChem
Office: 316-529-7577
Fax: 713-985-1507
norman dodson@oxy.com
The information contained in this message may be confidential and/or privileged. This message is intended to be
reviewed by the individual or organization named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified
that any review, dissemination or copying of this message or the information contained herein and in its attachments, if
1

<<<PAGE 8>>>

U.S. Department
of Transportation
Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration
JUN 6 2006
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Washington, O.C. 20590
Mr. Todd A. Nash
Director, Regulatory Compliance
West Marine Products, Inc.
500 Westridge Drive
Watsonville, CA 95076
Reference No. 06-0075
Dear Mr. Nash,
This is in response to your March 24, 2006 letter requesting clarification on whether your
retail organization's employees may routinely deliver hazardous materials to your store
and customer locations using private and for-hire vehicles under the Materials of Trade
(MOTs) exceptions prescribed in§§ 171.8 and 173.6 of the Hazardous Materials
Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). You stated these items are for replenishment
of inventory or to fulfill an existing sale. We have paraphrased your questions and
answered them in the order provided.
Ql. The wholesale business utilizes private company vehicles and drivers to deliver
sold goods and return unwanted items from customer locations. May those drivers
use the MOTs exception under these circumstances if the hazardous materials meet
the MOTs definition prescribed in § 171.8 and comply with applicable
requirements under§ 173.6?
Al. Yes. Under the HMR, one of the defining conditions for MOTs is a hazardous
material, other that a hazardous waste, transported by a private motor carrier in
direct support of a principal business that is other than transportation by motor
vehicle. If a wholesale business uses its own vehicles and driver~ to transport
goods to and from customer locations, then the MOTs exception in § 173.6 may be
utilized. Note, however, that if the wholesale company hires a motor carrier to
transport goods to and from customer locations, the MOTs exception does not
apply.
Q2. May the drivers transport hazardous materials products marked with the proper
shipping description "Consumer commodity, ORM-D" under the MOTs exception
provided they comply with the definition for MOTs under§ 171.8 and applicable
requirements under§ 173.6?
A2. Ye>. Consumer commodities that conform to the HMR requiremv1ts applicable to
MOTs may be transported as MOTs.
171· f
!13. (p
1111111111 111111111
060075

<<<PAGE 9>>>

Q3. Many of the items to be transported are not eligible for the limited quantity or
consumer commodity exceptions under the HMR (e.g., a 1 gallon can of acetone).
Provided a package containing these materials conforms to the MOTs requirements
prescribed in §§ 171.8 and 173.6, and the weight of MOTs aboard the motor
vehicle does not exceed 220 kg (440 pounds), would the package be eligible for the
MOTs exceptions?
A3. Yes.
Q4. May a store associate transport hazardous materials in his or her own vehicle
between stores or to a customer location using the MOTs exceptions provided the
packages comply with the definition for MOTs under § 171.8 and applicable
requirements under § 173.6?
A4. Yes. See Answer AI above.
I hope this information is helpful.
Sincerely,
f . I II
_j lr- J::J ' /
S~san Gorsky 6
Regulations Officer
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards
-------·---------~--~-

<<<PAGE 10>>>

a West Marine
~ivnonson
'§113.Z,
MoT
LJI:,. -oo lS
March 24, 2006
U.S. Department of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards (PHH -1 0)
400 7'h Street, S.W.
Washington, DC 20590-0001
Re: Applicability of 173.6 to retailers
To: Susan Gorsky, Regulations Officer
This letter is to follow-up on the phone conversation we had on March 24, 2006 concerning compliance with the
Materials of Trade exception covered under 49 CFR, Sections 171.8 & 173.6. West Marine has ques.tions regarding a
previous interpretation you provided in the August 23, 2005 letter to Mark U. DuBois at Reichold (RefNo. 0 1-0012).
According to the aforementioned letter, "It is acceptable for companies that routinely transport and deliver hazardous
materials to use the MOTs exception." West Marine is a retail organization that also has a wholesale division named
Port Supply. Routinely West Marine/Port Supply transports hazardous materials to our store and customer locations
using both private and for hire vehicles. These products are either for replenishment of inventory or to fulfill an existing
sale. West Marine would like to request an official letter of interpretation from your office clarif'y:ing the questions
below.
L The wholesale business utilizes private company vehicles and drivers to deliver sold goods and return unwanted
items from customer locations. May those drivers utilize the MOTs exception in these circumstances assuming
the hazardous materials meet the MOTs definition in §171.8 and all applicable conditions of §173.6?
2. May the drivers transport products marked "Consumer Commodity ORM-D" as their common or proper
shipping name under the MOTs exceptions assuming the hazardous materials meet the MOTs definition in
§ 171.8 and all applicable conditions of §173.6?
3. Many of the items transported would not be eligible for the Limited Quantity or Consumer Commodity ORM-D
provision (e.g. 1 gallon can of acetone). Would a package with these products be acceptabl<: under MOTs
___________ -aJassti!Ping the hazardous-materials meet the MO'fs-defmitio,l in § 171.8 and allapplicablh>e~c~o~n-"di"'·u.,.·o'""n"'s'o~f'§"'l..,7.,.3'-.6C'l'f~------
4. May a store associate transport a hazardous material in their own vehicle between stores or tc Cl customer
location assuming the hazardous materials meet the MOTs defmition in § 171.8 and all applica0le conditions of
§173.6?
I look forward to your response. Should you have any questions or require additional information, pJ,~ase do not hesitate
to contact me at (831) 761-4470.
Very truly yours,
Todd A. Nash
Director of Regulatory Compliance
West Marine Products Inc.
Page 1 of l
-----·~---------

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2013/130051.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `a17b7897942bdd13c6d298887a8f0e89efaf53e17c55070fc6c4892a890a5ad4`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-22T21:54:56.220Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-13-0051`

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