# Mr. Donald Brittingham — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 19-0047 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2019-10-02 19-0047 concerning 173.315, 178.337, 180.407. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 OCT O 2 2019 Mr. Donald Brittingham 208 143rd Street Ocean City, MD 21842 Reference No. 19-0047 Dear Mr. Brittingham: This letter is in response to your April 5, 2019, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to nurse tanks. Specifically, you ask several questions regarding the inspection and testing of nurse tanks when securely mounted to a field truck, farm wagon, or an applicator trailer. We have paraphrased your questions and answered them in the order you provided. Q 1. You ask whether a nurse tank securely mounted on a field truck is required to be tested in conformance with the§ 180.407(h) leakage test, as prescribed in§ 173.315(m)(3)(ii). A 1. The answer is yes. When securely mounted to a field truck, a nurse tank must comply with the provisions in§ 173.315(m)(3), which include the applicable testing and inspection requirements for an MC 331 cargo tank under subpart E of part 180, (Qualification and Maintenance of Cargo Tanks). See§ 173.315(m)(3)(ii). Q2. You ask whether the leakage test in § 180.407(h) applies to all nurse tanks regardless of their placement on a field truck, farm wagon, or applicator trailer. A2. The answer is no. Only nurse tanks securely mounted on a field truck in accordance with § 173.315(m)(3) are subject to a leakage test as prescribed in§ 180.407(h). Q3. You ask whether rollover protection, prescribed in§ 178.337-10 as "accident damage protection," for an MC 331 cargo tank motor vehicle is required on a nurse tank mounted on a farm wagon, applicator trailer, or field truck. <<>> A3. The answer is no. The HMR do not require accident damage protection for non- specification nurse tanks under § 173 .31 S(m). I 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 <<>> £ c;lrv-L~ ?J /8CJ. C/0 7 (h) I Cf - -{){)t ~ z Dodd, Alice (PHMSA) From: Sent: To: Subject: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Friday, April 05, 2019 4:51 PM Hazmat Interps FW: Letter of Interpretation Request Alice and lkeya, Please see the information below for a letter of interpretation request. Sincerely, Lynsie Patschke Transportation Regulatory Specialist Hazardous Materials Information Center (HMIC) From: Don Brittingham [mailto:aidtrain@comcast.net] Sent: Friday, April 05, 2019 10:46 AM To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Cc: aidtrain@comcast.net; KenU@Aglink.biz Subject: Letter of Interpretation Request PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 To Whom It May Concern, Please provide a written letter of interpretation to clarify whether a leakage test as required under Subpart E Part 180.407(h) applies to those nurse tanks considered to be Field Trucks that must be inspected as per Subpart E Part 180.407(h) according to Part 173.316 (m)(3)(ii). Also, does a leakage test required under Subpart E Part 180.407 (h) apply to all Nurse tanks regardless of whether on a field truck, farm wagon or applicator trailer since following a pressure test, the relief valve must be reinstalled . In addition, is rollover protection specified in Subpart J Part 178.337-10 required on a Nurse Tank mounted onto a farm wagon, applicator trailer and/or field truck? Sincerely, Donald Brittingham 208 143rd Street Ocean City, MD 21842 302-743-2935 1 <<>> ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `5bd9ea00472d1a570370e72ac26e2fed5563b30f53625601f6064f40bd2a5577` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-23T09:44:29.442Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-19-0047` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [], "individuals": [ "Mr. Donald Brittingham" ], "refIds": [ "19-0047" ], "catalogDates": [ "2019-10-02" ], "catalogParts": [ 173, 178, 180 ], "catalogRowCount": 3, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/71716" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "173.315", "173.315(m)(3)(ii)", "178.337", "180.407", "180.407(h)", "173.316" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/173315", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/178337-10", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/180407" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/72511/190047.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/72511/190047.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/72511/190047.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/19-0047-f2d68acd62.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "505afbe9ecad7a4bf301a7f015f11ddc7eff202f40f4a9d433c34639ccc6e4e5", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/19-0047-f2d68acd62.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "dc4e134db20ab638ba368f249e13515f50242ec34e01b4fef8ec4933ef319276", "pageCount": 4, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```