# Regulatory Resources Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

**Citation:** 16-0157  
**Type / status:** guidance / guidance  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 2017-01-31

16-0157 response to Regulatory Resources Inc. concerning 172.201, 172.202, 172.604.

## Document text

<<<PAGE 1>>>

U.S. Department
of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety
Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
JAN 1 2 2016
Mr. W. A. Winters
President
Regulatory Resources Inc.
379 Aragon Avenue
Los Alamos, NM 87544
Reference No. 16-0157
Dear Mr. Winters:
This letter is in response to your September 23, 2016, letter requesting clarification of the
Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to shipping papers.
Specifically, you ask questions pertaining to the placement of certain entries as they relate to an
example shipping paper you included in your letter. We have paraphrased and answered your
questions as follows:
QI. Section 172.202(c) requires the total quantity of hazardous material covered by
one description to appear before or after, or both before and after, the description
required and authorized by Subpart C of Part 172. What other information, if any,
is authorized to be placed before the required description?
Al. As prescribed in§§ 172.201(a)(4) and 172.202(c), certain information may be placed
before the basic description, such as quantity shipped, the type of packaging, and
destination marks. Otherwise, additional information must be entered on the shipping
paper after the basic description prescribed in§ 172.202(a).
Q2. In the same scenario as Q 1, how much "after" the required description can the
total quantity of material be indicated for a shipping paper to be considered
acceptable? Does our example shipping paper meet that standard?
A2. There are no boundaries-written or otherwise-with regard to what is considered an
acceptable "after" location for the quantity of material covered by a description so long as
it is not considered excessive. To that end, the location depicted in the example shipping
paper you provided is acceptable.
Q3. Does the type of package indicated in our example shipping paper meet the requirements
of§ 172.202(a)(7)?

<<<PAGE 2>>>

A3. Q4. A4. The answer is no. The number and type of packages must be indicated on a
shipping paper either before or after the required basic description. See
§ § 172.202( a)(7) and 172.202( c ). The type of packages must be indicated as a
description of the package (i.e., "12 drums"). The example shipping paper
provided with your letter does not meet that standard because the "RIDGED OR
SHARPS US DOT TRANSPORT CONTAINER" field does not sufficiently
describe a commonly recognizable package type.
Does the emergency contact telephone number depicted in our example shipping paper
meet the requirements of§ 172.604(a)(3)(ii)?
The answer is yes. Section 172.604(a)(3)(ii) requires that the emergency contact
telephone number be entered once on the shipping paper in a manner that sets the
information apart to provide for quick and easy recognition. The example location and
method depicted in the shipping paper you provided meets this requirement.
!hope this information is helpful. 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 3>>>

Goodall, Shante CTR (PHMSA)
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Attachments:
l lJ -0 l 1
INFOCNTR (PHMSA)
Friday, September 23, 2016 6:04 PM
Hazmat Interps
FW: Request for Clarification
New Interp Request.pdf
Hi Shante/Alice,
Please submit this as a letter of interpretation. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks,
Attached is a request for clarification regarding the Hazardous Materials Regulations. Please contact me if you have any
questions.
Thank you,
Wade Winters
505-393-0111
1

<<<PAGE 4>>>

Regulatory Resources Inc
"The Source You Come Back To "
Standards and Rulemaking Division
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Attn: PHH-I 0
U.S. Department of Transportation
East Building
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590-0001
Dear Standards and Rulemaking Division,
RR! is a training and consulting company. We often will use bad examples as a training tool in
compliance. Discussions have ensued with regard to the example shipping description/paper provided.
RR! is seeking PHMSA's opinion on the questions below.
The requirement for the quantity to be identified for a description of hazardous material on a shipping
paper is located in 172.202( c ). This information may be entered before or after (or both) the required
description. Paragraph 172.201(a)(4) stipulates that any additional information may be included but must
be placed after the required description. My questions are:
(I) Given I 72.201(a)( 4), would the quantity location before the required hazardous material
description be better stated as "immediately before"? In other words, is any other information,
other than specified in 172.201 , allowed to be placed before the required description?
(2) Are there any unwritten boundaries on what is acceptable with regard to the "after" location of the
quantity of material covered by a description? For example, given the hazardous materials
shipping paper shown below, would the location of the quantity be acceptable?
On other subjects, with regard to the shipping paper example provided:
(3) Is the type of package indicated in the example shipping paper sufficient to meet the requirement
of 172.202(a)(7)?
( 4) Does the means by which the emergency contact telephone number is displayed meet the intent of
172.604(a)(3)(ii)?
Please contact me if you have any questions. Our office number is 505-393-0111. Thank you,
ll'ki~
W. A. Winters President
379 Aragon Avenue
Los Alamos, NM 87544
voice: 505-393-0111
hazmat@regulatoryresources.net
www.regulatoryresources.net
WAW/lom

<<<PAGE 5>>>

~ Regulatory Resources, Inc.
---a 379 Aragon Avenue
Los Alamos, NM 87544
505-393-0111
hazmat@regu la to ryresou rces.net
www.regulatoryresources.net
Storage Facility/Station:
555 Anystreet - Anywhere, AW 98765
UN3291
REGULATED MEDICAL WASTE, n.o.s.
CLASS6.2
PG.II
RRI RMWlnc.
PO Box 1234
Anywhere, AW 98765
555-555-1212 - Fax 555-555-1234
MANIFEST NO:
RRI NO.:. 070861
BIOHAZARDOUS REGULATED MEDICAL (SPECIAL} WASTE MANIFEST I TRACKING DOCUMENT
In case of emergency, please catl:555-555-5666 (24-hrRRJ RM\N. Inc.emergency response telephone number)
g:: CUSTOMER I GENERATOR I ORIGIN WASTE TYPE TELEPHONE NUMBER
r.i RMW Generator Inc. 555-555-3434
8 ll-A-D-D~RE_S_S~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'--~~~~~~~~~~~--1
!;; 123 Medical Street, Medical, AW 98567
~o ~ WASTE TYPE I NO. OF RIDGED OR SHARPS US DOTTAANSPORT CONTAINERS COLLECTED l10 GAL It. , GAL. l31 GAL J32 GAL l43 GAL !'so+ GAL 1 oTHEH I
JctRr'.flEDTOTAl.Wl.OfCONTAJNE~
~ Regulated Medical Waste 6 I 215.5 lbs
fo-~ GENERATOR'S CERTIFICATION: Till.• is to certily mot 111C above-named matOfiais are. prop01ly classille<I, ae.cribed. packaged. ma1ked ond labeled, 11!\d aro on p<opet
condltlon for lransponallon according tu lho appllcabt.. •O!lulations of Ille Oepanrnent ot Transponsuon, and Iha! SUCh waste f1a• been manage<I, poi:kaged. contao1e<ized and
~ ...
- in =1d~~·5t,1~;;:;;••Tl<llll• of: • · ~
•• ,. ~-- (Special w ... 1o Requi1amenls) "' ad~O<lfl~=le federal •t.i• UI 57ij;016
t5 NAME OF COMPANY AEPRESEf.ITATIVE (Pnnl) SIGNATIJRE OF RE!PaElit:iTAiNE ._ ... _ .. _ ... ... !'Al'l'··-----<
SPECIAL HANDLING INSTRUCTIONS
NAME(S) OF PERSONS COLLECTING, TRANSPORTING OR UNLOADING WASTE
CZ: COMPANY NAME TELEPHONE NUMBER
~ RMW Transporter, Inc.
521~---------+--------i 0 ADDRESS
(I. P.O. Box 666, Somewhere, AW 98234
~ REGISTRATION No. I NO. OF AIOGEO OR SHARPS US DOT ffiANSPORT CONTAINERS COUECTED ~ AWED 003456 rOGAL r7GAL 131 GAL 132GAL r3GAL 190..GAL lu1HER I
ICffillffmTOTM.WTOFOONIA!IERS
DATE~Mro!C!l.(SfEQAl.lWASIEOOUfCTEO
;...~ I acknowledge receipt of the included biohazardous medical {spAcial) waste and I certify that the information provided above is lrue amf correcl and Dial ooly
~blollluardous medit:lll (spe<ial) wasies are contained in this load. I am aware lhal talsificalion of this document may resutt In for1eiture or my lransportor's
regis118lion and/or the privilege ot utilizing State authorized tacilfties.
ii!
t:l.. l'IAME OF COMPANY AEPRESaNTATIVlf (Pont) SIGNATURE OF REPRESENTATIVE DATE
STORA~E STATION NAME I AFG. I
SIGNATURE OF REPRESENTATIVE I DATE RECEIVED
Anywhere, AW AWED003456
NAME(S) OF PERSONS COUECTING. TRANSPORTING OR UNLOADING WASTE llN.'1'ALS
~lt-COM--P-A-NY,....-N-AM-E~~~~~~-~~~~~~~~--~~~~~-~~~--t-T-E-LE_P_H....,O~N - E~N-U-M....,Be~R~~~~~--t
~ ADDRESS OATE~MEOICALISP£CIAl.)WASTEOOUEC1ED
E- REGISTRATION No. ~
I NO. OF RIDGED OR SHARPS US DOT TRANSPORT CONTAINERS COLLECTED 0GAL r7GAL
31 GAL
32GAL
3GAL
0.GAL
let:f!llflEOTOTAL wt OFCOOTAINEllS
0THER
~ ==.~~;
11
1
1
14
19
1
1
Q I acknowledge receipt of the Included blohazatdous medical (spe<:lal) waste and I cer1ily lhat lhe Information provi<llM! above Is true and correc1 and that only
0~::;,a~1=,~~ ~:=~~~~~~7.'!"• load. I am aware Iha! falslficallon ot lhi< doWment may resull In for1el1ure of my ~a11sporter's
NAMe OF COMPANY AEPAESENTATIVE (Prlnl) SIGNATURE OF REPAESEllTATIVE DATE
COMPANY NAME TELEPHONE NUMBER
RMW Treatment, Inc. 555-555-1111
~ ADDRESS
.... 999 Treatment Street, Nothere, AW 98567
011--~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~--.~~~-,----~---~~~-----1
~ PERMIT NUMBER I DATE WASTE RECEIVED I TOTAL NET WEIGHT RECEIVED
~ AWED 09876
;z 11-~~~~~~~~~-..,--'~-~~-~--~---~~~-~-...l.~~~~~~---~-~~~~~~
f;J DISCREPANCY INDICATION SPACE
::;;
~ ll-o-/ce_rtlfy,,,,_that.,--l"'"ha-.,,-besn:---a-ul 7 ho-riZ-•....,d""by-,the,.....,,S-tar-e""ar=--""""'----==--.._-,,...-,, .......,.. ,., _
Pl - :
--
.. ---.--:: ..
__ -:- . - - --- .- -:..,...~:- -
-
. .,,.--::,0-accept- · -,-1J11_,.tre-a,-ted7
(special) wasle for troalmenl and finBJ disposal; and mat I have recer1ed Iha above indica1BO was res m a<:coroar>ce w>lt1 the roqulra/nents 0111/irred in that authmfllllltJn
biolnu'"'·.,.-a-«1o-:--us-n-1edfcaJ-,,_~--f
!'"
---D-AT_E ___ _
NAME' Or COMP/\NV RFPAESENTATIVE fflrmli SrGNATIJAE Of ~EPAFSENJA1Wt:.
GENERATOR

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2017/160157.pdf>
- Source ID: `phmsa`
- SHA-256: `b9a0f9554111cc2eaeb02e8c4a82f143d2956c5f9980c6a4ceeffb30383d41ea`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z
- Exported: 2026-08-23T07:48:09.496Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-16-0157`

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