# Alaska Airlines, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 16-0171 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2017-03-15 16-0171 response to Alaska Airlines, Inc. concerning 172.101. ## Document text <<>> Manager Dangerous Goods Alaska Airlines, Inc. P.O. Box 68900 - SEADG Seattle, WA 98168 Reference No. 16-0171 Dear Mr. Tobin: This letter is in response to your October 19, 2016, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to materials subject to transport regulations by air. You describe in your email a scenario in which a ramp service agent experienced burning of the eyes and throat after having entered the lower cargo compartment on a passenger-carrying aircraft, where he was exposed to a material leaking from a drum. You further explain that while the drum contained formalin mixed with sea water to a 4% concentration that was not regulated in accordance with special provision A189, the effect experienced by the agent is more aligned with special provision A35. Specifically, you state your belief that special provisions A35 and A189 assigned to "UN 3334, Aviation regulated liquid, n.o.s. (formalin)" create confusion and ask if either special provision supersedes the other in this instance. Under the Hazardous Materials Table (HMT) in § 172.101, "UN 3334, Aviation regulated liquid, n.o.s." is listed as a Class 9 material and is assigned special provisions A35 and A189. By definition, Class 9 means a material which presents a hazard during transportation but which does not meet the definition of any other hazard class. This class includes "any material which has an anesthetic, noxious or other similar property which could cause extreme annoyance or discomfort to a flight crew member so as to prevent the correct performance of assigned duties." Special provision A189 explains that concentrations of formaldehyde solution with less than 10% formaldehyde and, in this instance, formalin solution (i.e., 1-2% formaldehyde solution) are generally not subject to the HMR. Nonetheless, it is the shipper's responsibility to properly classify their material. Special provision A35 explains that material described as "Aviation regulated liquid" would create discomfort to crew members on an aircraft, preventing the correct performance of assigned duties in the event of spillage or leakage of the material. <<>> Chiet, Standards Development Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> Please submit this as a letter of interpretation. I have done some looking into Mr. Tobin's inquiry. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, jordan From: Mike Tobin [mailto:Mike. Tobin@AlaskaAir.com] Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2016 11:21 AM To: PHMSA HM InfoCenter Subject: request for interpretation Hi, please find attached a request for interpretation regarding the 2 special provisions applied to UN 3344. Thank you. Mike Michael G. Tobin, CHMM Manager Dangerous Goods Board member, IATA Dangerous Goods BoardAlaska Airline | P 206.392.7854 F 555-555-5555 C 555-555-1234 mike.tobin@alaskaair.com P.O. Box 68900 - SEADG Optional Street Line Seattle, WA 98168 alaskaair.com Alaska® AIRLINES including 49 U.S.C. 40115 and 40123, 14 CFR 193, 49 CFR 7.29 and 5 U.S.C. 552(b), and applicable state laws. This document is released with an expectation of Warning: Any safety-related, security-related and/or commercial information in this document is considered proprietary and is exempt from disclosure under federal law, confidential treatment. 1 <<>> Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Attn: PHH-10 U.S. Department of Transportation, East Building 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE. Washington, DC 20590-0001. Alaska Airlines, Inc. ("Alaska") respectfully requests an answer to the question: Does special provision A35 supersede A189 regarding classification of UN 3334 Aviation regulated liquid? We had an incident onboard an aircraft and reported it to the FAA hazardous materials office and via DOT Form 5800.1 A ramp service agent entered the lower cargo compartment on a passenger-carrying aircraft and within 10 seconds experienced burning in their eyes and throat. They exited the aircraft and tried again after donning mask and goggles, but again could not stay. The airport fire department had to respond and unload the aircraft wearing self-contained breathing apparatus. A 5-gallon plastic drum was found to be leaking. Our airline paid two cleanup vendors to render the aircraft and all the contaminated baggage safe. The shipper stated they mixed formalin with sea water to about a 4% concentration. They stated they checked the US regulations and that their material was not regulated hazmat. However, the effect on our personnel aligns with SP A35. On the last page of this letter are extracts from one SDS classifying "formalin 10%" with a 3-4% concentration of formaldehyde as UN 3334. We believe that is correct. PHMSA in Interpretation 01-0271 stated, "it is the opinion of this Office that formaldehyde solutions with less than 10% formaldehyde mixed with non-hazardous materials do not meet the definition of a Class 9 hazardous material and, provided they do not meet any other hazard class, are not subject to the HMR" Two disparate special provisions applied to UN 3334 in the HMR appear to create confusion, so we kindly request an interpretation on this. ICAO does not have both special provisions applied to UN 3334, the <10% formaldehyde special provision is applied to a non-proper shipping name entry of formaldehyde solution. This seems to be more logical. Citations from both regulations appear on the next page. Thank you for your consideration. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. If an interpretation will just reiterate the 2001 interpretation, please consider this as a petition for rulemaking to permit regulation of concentrations less than 10% formaldehyde. Sincerely, The Soon Mike Tobin, CHMM Manager Dangerous Goods Alaska Airlines, Inc. - SEADG mike.tobin@alaskaair.com PO Box 68900 - SEADG, Seattle, WA 98168 P 206.392.7854 <<>> 49CFR §9 172.101 and 172.102 UN 3334 Aviation regulated liquid, n.o.s. A35 This includes any material which is not covered by any of the other classes but which has an anesthetic, narcotic, noxious or other similar properties such that, in the event of spillage or leakage on an aircraft, extreme annoyance or discomfort could be caused to crew members so as to prevent the correct performance of assigned duties. A189 Except where the defining criteria of another class or division are met, concentrations of formaldehyde solution: a. With less than 25 percent but not less than 10 percent formaldehyde, must be described as UN3334, Aviation regulated liquid, n.o.s.; and b. With less than 10 percent formaldehyde, are not subject to this subchapter. ICAO TI Table 3.1 and Chapter 3 UN 3334 Aviation regulated liquid, n.o.s. This includes any material which is not covered by any of the other classes but which has an anesthetic, narcotic, noxious or other similar properties such that, in the event of spillage or leakage on an aircraft, extreme annoyance or discomfort could be caused to crew members so as to prevent the correct performance of assigned duties. The following is not a proper shipping name, it is in light face type with just the explanatory in column 7. Formaldehyde solution with less than 25 percent formaldehyde A189 Except where the defining criteria of another class or division are met, concentrations of formaldehyde solution: a. With less than 25 percent but not less than 10 percent formaldehyde, must be described as UN3334, Aviation regulated liquid, n.o.s.; and b. With less than 10 percent formaldehyde, are not subject to this subchapter. PO Box 68900 - SEADG, Seattle, WA 98168 P 206.392.7854 <<>> Product Name Formalin Solution 10% Neutral Buff. pH 7.0 Component CAS # OSHA PEL ACGIH TLV Recommended Other Limits Percent Formaldehyde 50-00-0 0.75 ppm c 0.3 mg/m? 3-4 Section 14. Transport Information GROUND SHIPMENTS: Not regulated AIR SHIPMENTS: Aviation Regulated Liquid n.o.s. (formaldehyde), 9, UN3334 NOTE: It is ultimately the shippers responsibility to make hazard class determination based on their best information available. It is, of course, the shipper's responsibility to correctly classify hazardous materials - but how do they know in the case of formalin and what kinds of effects any product might have to trigger SP A35? Note - this product may not have been the material in the buckets on our flight, it is used for illustrative purposes only. Source: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/lab_info_services/downloads/MSDS_Formalin.pdf PO Box 68900 - SEADG, Seattle, WA 98168 P 206.392.7854 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `14ba9b3153f6c4461839f0fb0de05e9aa18219a199bdd5d7f20c1c23599e2ae1` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-22T16:33:42.477Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-16-0171` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Alaska Airlines, Inc." ], "individuals": [ "Mr. Mike Tobin" ], "refIds": [ "16-0171" ], "catalogDates": [ "2017-03-15" ], "catalogParts": [ 172 ], "catalogRowCount": 1, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/48581" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "172.101", "172.102" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172101" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2017/160171.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2017/160171.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2017/160171.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/16-0171-b67b52e591.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "73f18aec7bd305f03aea0b50e751272e555971350e95f91e1767aab65025ac25", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/16-0171-b67b52e591.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "ed9741dd9aff1f4381e3d637ddff59f45c00b2f8c4b7c5bf3d77bafe258d327a", "pageCount": 6, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```