# ESHQ Services North America — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 18-0089 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2018-08-20 18-0089 response to ESHQ Services North America concerning 171.8, 172.704. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 AUG 2 0 2018 Robert Miller Manager-Transportation Safety ESHQ Services North America 299 Jefferson Road Parsippany, NJ 07054 Reference No. 18-0089 Dear Mr. Miller: This letter is in response to your June 15, 2018, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to training requirements. You describe a scenario in which a laboratory employee fills a sample bottle with a hazardous material and then hands the bottle to the shipping department. The laboratory employee does not perform any other function related to transportation. The shipping department employees are fully trained and perform all remaining pre-transportation functions. You ask whether the laboratory employee must be trained in accordance with the hazardous material employee training requirements in Part 172 Subpart H. The answer is yes. As defined in § 171.8, a hazmat employee is a person who, in the course of his or her employment, directly affects hazardous materials transportation safety. An employee who fills a packaging with a hazardous material is performing a function that directly affects transportation safety and, thus, is subject to the training requirements in Part 172 Subpart Hof the HMR. Note that training provided in accordance with standards or regulations of other Federal agencies, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or the Environmental Protection Agency, may be used to satisfy the training requirements in§ 172.704, provided such training addresses the training components specified in § 172. 704(a). I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Chief, Standards Development Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> January, lkeya CTR (PHMSA) From: Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Friday, June 15, 2018 4:48 PM Hazmat Interps FW: Request for Interpretation on Lab Employee Training Lab Employee Training Requirements Under 49CFR.pdf Hi lkeya, Attached is a letter of interpretation. I spoke with Mr. Miller about his request. Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you, Jodi From: Miller, Robert [mailto:robert.miller@evonik.com] Sent: Friday, June 15, 2018 11:33 AM To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Subject: Request for Interpretation on Lab Employee Training Attached please find a letter requesting clarification and interpretation on lab employee training pertaining to 49 CFR. Thanks, Rob Robert Miller Manager - Transportation Safety ESHQ Services North America Phone +1 973 929 8059 Fax +1 973 929 8040 Cell +1 973 202 3038 robe rt. miller@evonik.com Evonik Corporation 299 Jefferson Road Parsippany, NJ 07054, USA http://www.evonik.com This message and any attachments are the property of Evonik Industries and its subsidiaries, are confidential, and may be privileged or otherwise protected from disclosure. This message is intended solely for the use of th _ e addressee. If you receive this e-mail in error, -please telephone or e-mail the sender and delete this message and any attachments from your system. If you are not the intended recipient you are strictly prohibited from disclosing, copying, distributing or using any of this information. 1 <<>> @evan1K POWER TO CREATE June 1 5, 2018 Standards and Rulemaking Division Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Attn: PHH-1 0 U.S. Department of Transportation East Building 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE. Washington, DC 20590-0001 Evonlk Corporation 299 Jefferson Road Parslppany, IIU 07054 www.evonlk.com Phone + 1 973-929-8059 Fax + 1 973-929-8040 Cell + 1 973-202-3038 Roben.mlller@evonlk.com RE: Request for Clarification on Lab Employee Training Dear Madam / Sir: We would like to obtain some guidance or an interpretation, which addresses whether 49 CFR training is required for lab employees who only fill sample bottles of hazmat and then hand it to the shipping department. The lab employees do not perform any other function such as classification, package selection, package assembly, marking, or labeling. The shipping department is fully trained and they place the bottles in spec packages. The trained shipping employees do all the certifications and ensure the rest of the shipping functions are completed including package selection and closure requirements. The bottles are only the Inner packaging and the labs do not perform any other packaging or pre-transportation functions listed in 49 CFR 1 71.1 (b). The trained shippers certify the final package Is In compliance, which includes the inner packaging. Please advise If these lab employees require 49 CFR training. Thank you for your time and guidance. Sincerely yours, tird Robert Miller Manager - Transportation Safety Product Regulatory Services USA Page 1 of 1 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `ee3ecd549c6c556e75f228fda4b8088faacb103026adfe58fc96c5179854254b` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-23T02:17:45.126Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-18-0089` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "ESHQ Services North America" ], "individuals": [ "Robert Miller" ], "refIds": [ "18-0089" ], "catalogDates": [ "2018-08-20" ], "catalogParts": [ 171, 172 ], "catalogRowCount": 2, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/70761" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "171.8", "172.704" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/1718", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172704" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/62871/180089.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/62871/180089.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/62871/180089.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/18-0089-46876ddc71.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "bb267daa3dd032c6ead258141e0ac73ed22f5ba8ad18fc8e08529c5cafd65e9f", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/18-0089-46876ddc71.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "303b51f1394a2bf84f90da3ffe513ceb0d64bca05cf56ac27ada395ad01b3274", "pageCount": 3, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```