# Tri Tank Corporation — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** 15-0226  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 2016-04-14

15-0226 response to Tri Tank Corporation concerning 180.407.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

of Transportatior
J.S. Department
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
Materials Safety
Pipeline and Hazardous
Administration
APR 1 4 2016
Jim Lawson
Tri Tank Corporation
115 Farrell Road
Syracuse, NY 13209
Ref. No. 15-0226
Dear Mr. Lawson:
This responds to your email of November 18, 2015 requesting clarification of the Hazardous
Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the external visual
inspection of cargo tanks. In your request, you ask whether paint used to cover the exterior of
a cargo tank could be considered a "coating."
For purposes of § 180.407, paint may preclude an external visual inspection. Specifically,
§ 180.407(d)(1) states, "Tilf external visual inspection is precluded because any part of the
cargo tank wall is externally lined, coated, or designed to prevent an external visual
inspection, those areas of the cargo tank must be internally inspected." Therefore, one must
consider whether the application of paint on the exterior of a cargo tank wall prevents the
performance of an external visual inspection that conforms to the requirements of the HMR
(e.g., §§ 180.407(d)(2) through (d)(7)).
It is the opinion of this Office that the Registered Inspector (as defined in § 171.8), or other
appropriate person meeting the requirements of § 180.409, would determine whether the paint
has covered certain areas of the cargo tank wall in such a way that prevents a proper external
visual inspection from being performed. If the Registered Inspector determines that the
application of paint does indeed prevent a proper external visual inspection, an internal visual
inspection of those areas affected by the paint would be required in conjunction with the
external visual inspection for the remaining areas of the cargo tank wall.
I hope this answers your inquiry. If you need additional assistance, please contact this Office
again.
Sincerely,
Dirk Der Kinderet
Chief, Standards Development Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division

<<<PAGE 2>>>

Hesko
173.1/5
Goodall, Shante CTR (PHMSA)
Paint rated Materrai
From:
15-0226
Sent:
Foster, Glenn (PHMSA)
Wednesday, November 18, 2015 10:25 AM
To:
Dodd, Alice (PHMSA); Goodall, Shante CTR (PHMSA)
Subject:
FW: wraps
Attachments:
How to UNZIP.html; SecureZIP Attachments.zip
Alice / Shante,
Please have this inquiry checked in as a request for Interpretation and assign it to a Specialist.
Thanks,
Glenn
From: Jim Lawson [mailto:jimlawson@tritank.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2015 9:38 AM
Cc: Dan Comins
To: Foster, Glenn (PHMSA)
Subject: wraps
Glenn,
Have been speaking with Paul Bomgardner at the Houston NTTC show about trailers with wraps, decals, and
paint. Looking for a little more clarification on decals (company logo) and paint that may partially or fully cover a weld
seem during external visual inspections. We are seeing more and more of this every month. The wraps seem pretty cut
and dry. Paint is | guess the real question. As it usually covers all the weld seams. Is paint considered a "coating".
Thank you,
Jim Lawson
Service Manager
Tri Tank Corp.
315-451-8663

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2016/150226.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `87242f64dd88ff895db257151fb599268c8feb67638cfc551c9df93ab3fa76e5`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-22T17:51:36.177Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-15-0226`

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