# UBH International — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 15-0155 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2016-05-23 15-0155 response to UBH International concerning 178.275. ## Document text <<>> of Transportation U.S. Department 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Materials Safety Pipeline and Hazardous Administration MAY 2 3 2016 Mr. Alex McGonagle UBH International Orrell Lane Burscough L40 OSL United Kingdom Ref. No. 15-0155 Dear Mr. McGonagle: This is in response to your July 22, 2015 e-mail, and follow discussion with a member of my staff, in which you requested written clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180) concerning transport provisions for portable tanks. You ask for clarification of the requirements in §§ 178.275(f)(1) and 178.275(g)(1) as they relate to vacuum-relief devices and pressure relief devices. Specifically, you ask if a portable tank is not fitted with a vacuum-relief device, does the requirement to prevent rupture of the shell due to a vacuum provided in § 178.275(g)(1) apply. For the purposes of functions covered by the HMR (i.e., transportation functions), the answer to your question is yes. When the portable tank capacity is not less than 1,900 liters (501.9 gallons) section 178.275(g)(1) defines the functions of a pressure relief device. Included is the requirement that pressure relief devices must have sufficient capacity to prevent rupture of the shell due to over pressurization or vacuum resulting from filling, discharging, heating of the contents, or fire. Whether or not the portable tank has a vacuum relief valve, the portable tank design must protect against rupture due to vacuum per § 178.275(f)(1) of not less than 0.4 bar (40.0 kPa). I trust this information is helpful. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. Sincerely, Duane Pfund International Standards Coordinator Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> Webb $178.275 Specification. for UN Dodd, Alice (PHMSA) Portable tanks From: Geller, Shelby CTR (PHMSA) 15-0155 Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 12:32 PM Subject: To: Hazmat Interps FW: Interpretation of 49 CFR 178.275 Dear Shante and Alice, See below for the request for a formal letter of interpretation. Mr. McGonagle spoke with Neil Suchak. His mailing address is: UBH International Orrell Lane Burscough Lancashire L40 OSL Thanks, Shelby From: Alex McGonagle [mailto:amcgonagle@ubh.co.uk] To: Geller, Shelby CTR (PHMSA) Sent: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 9:33 AM Subject: RE: Interpretation of 49 CFR 178.275 Dear Shelby Thank you for your reply. I spoke to your colleague, Neil, who provided me with useful verbal advice. However, in the circumstances, we do need a written interpretation of this question, so please accept this e-mail as our formal request for a written interpretation. Best Regards Alex Sent: 22 July 2015 21:55 To: Alex McGonagle Subject: RE: Interpretation of 49 CFR 178.275 Dear Alex McGonagle, We have received your inquiry about the hazardous materials regulations (49 CFR Parts 171-180). The hazardous materials regulations are available at the following URL: http://phmsa.dot.gov/regulations 1 <<>> ... A hazardous materials regulatory specialist would be happy to speak with you regarding your inquiry. You may contact the Hazardous Materials Information Center, which is staffed with regulatory specialists who can quickly answer your questions by phone, Monday through Friday, 9 AM - 5 PM EST at +1 (202) 366-4488. Sincerely, Shelby, Hazardous Materials Specialist An e-mail response from this office is considered informal guidance. Formal guidance may be requested in accordance with 49 CFR 105.20. http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/regs/interps From: Alex McGonagle [mailto:amcgonagle@ubh.co.uk] Sent: Wednesday, July 22, 2015 11:02 AM To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Subject: Interpretation of 49 CFR 178.275. Dear Sir/Madam We are looking for assistance on an interpretation of 49 CFR 178.275, with relation to pressure relief devices. Under paragraph (f) (1), it states "A shell that is not fitted with a vacuum-relief device must be designed to withstand, without permanent deformation, an external pressure of not less than 0.4 bar (40 kPa)." However, under section (g) (1), the last sentence states "The pressure relief devices must have sufficient capacity to prevent rupture of the shell due to over pressurization or vacuum resulting from filling, discharging, heating of the contents or fire". We have always believed that this is intended to read that if a vacuum relief valve is fitted, it must fulfil the function defined under (g) (1), but we have a customer who is saying that the wording of (g) (1) means that the tank should be able to be discharged by pump without opening an airline and not implode under vacuum. We would appreciate if you could confirm the US DOT's interpretations of these 2 sentences. Best Regards Alex Alex McGonagle UBH International Direct: +44 (0) 1704 898508 Switchboard: +44 (0) 1704 898 500 Mobile: +44 (0) 7740 283739 2 <<>> Webb, Steven (PHMSA) From: To: Sent: Alex McGonagle Thursday, October 01, 2015 12:19 PM Subject: Webb, Steven (PHMSA) RE: DOT Interp Hi Steve Sorry, I missed responding to your message. Our answers to your questions are as follows: 1. Our question relates to a tank with a pressure only relief valve, no vacuum relief valve. 2. Yes, this in essence sums up the question. 3. To give more background, most UN Portable tanks built worldwide are built designed to 0.4 bar vacuum and with no vacuum relief valve. An end user of a tank container who is used to using road tankers in the US fitted with vacuum relief valves steam cleaned the tank and locked off all valves and the manway. They say this is their standard procedure, believing that it helps keep the tank internals clean. Normally, the vacuum relief valve will activate, preventing the vacuum from imploding the tank (although this does let potentially contaminated air into the tank, negating the benefit of closing the tank). However, as this tank did not have a vacuum relief valve, the tank imploded. The customer is claiming that the tank does not meet clause 178.275 (g) (1). Our claim is that 178.275 (g) (1) is to define the function of a relief valve if present. Therefore, if the tank has a vacuum relief valve, it must protect against rupture due to vacuum. However, if the tank does not have a relief valve, in line with 178.275 (f) (1), we would argue that there can be no expectation that any valve would provide protection against rupture due to vacuum. We would like you to confirm if you agree with our statement above or not. Sorry, I know this is not the easiest concept to put into words. Please let me know if you need any further clarification. Best Regards Alex From: steven.webb@dot.gov[mailto:steven.webb@dot.gov] Sent: 01 October 2015 16:46 To: Alex McGonagle Subject: RE: DOT Interp Alex, I'm still awaiting clarification of the below questions to progress a response for your interpretation request. I am unable to answer the questions as posed in your original email request. Please provide additional clarification on your questions as requested below or I may have to close out this request. Thanks in Advance Steve Webb Transportation Specialist- International Standards Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) - U.S. DOT Office of Hazardous Materials Safety 1 <<>> L40 OSL If you are unable to post internationally, you could send it to our customer, their address is as follows: Mike Smith Exsif Worldwide 2700 Westchester Avenue Suite 400 Purchase NY 10577 Thank you for your assistance on this matter Best Regards Alex From: steven.webb@dot.gov [mailto:steven.webb@dot.gov] Sent: 21 August 2015 19:44 To: Alex McGonagle Subject: DOT Interp Mr. McGonagle, I'm drafting the response to your request for interpretation on portable tanks and need a mailing address to send the response to. The response is still in the concurrence phase, but an address would help facilitate its delivery once completed. Please provide a valid mailing address. Thanks Steve Webb Transportation Specialist- International Standards Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) - U.S. DOT Office of Hazardous Materials Safety 1200 New Jersey Avenue S.E., E24-422, Washington D.C. 20590 E24-422 steven.webb@dot.gov 202-366-4579 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `c73f02c7861219f18c63064d4a2fff1df2ad0a0b6973729b3d17b29d6fd6f5fb` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-22T14:24:05.739Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-15-0155` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "UBH International" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Alex McGonagle" ], "refIds": [ "15-0155" ], "catalogDates": [ "2016-05-23" ], "catalogParts": [ 178 ], "catalogRowCount": 1, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/52691" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "178.275", "178.275(f)(1)", "40.0" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/178275" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2016/150155.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2016/150155.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2016/150155.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/15-0155-2936f58c03.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "7175c402ba683e4d3ce76cff4175fee620f0f5d808535400dd43fbbdce171bcb", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/15-0155-2936f58c03.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "9fe2e18d9903e3f01579febaa71141fb61f572a3e8bad0593323dd5c0095cf46", "pageCount": 5, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```