# Chammas Cutters Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 19-0074 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 2020-03-11 19-0074 response to Chammas Cutters Inc. concerning 171.23, 172.429. ## Document text <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Plpellne and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 March 11, 2020 Michel Chammas Cham.mas Cutters Inc, 11320 FM 529 Bldg. 1 Houston, TX 77041 Reference No. 19-0074 Dear Mr. Chammas: This letter is in response to your June 10, 2019, email and subsequent phone conversations requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the transport of poisonous by inhalation (PIH) material as authorized by special permit DOT-SP 14796. Specifically, you ask how your material can be shipped via air transportation when the poisonous by inhalation label is not recognized under the International Civil Aviation Organization's Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (ICAO Technical Instructions). Typically, materials being shipped internationally by air are permitted to adhere to the ICAO Technical Instructions. However,§ 171.23(b)(IO)(iv) states that " ... the package must be labeled or placarded with POISON INHALATION HAZARD or POISON GAS, as appropriate, in accordance with subparts E and F of part 172 of this subchapter." Therefore, the shipment must comply with the requirements of the HMR and be labeled with the POISON INHALATION HAZARD label as specified in§ 172.429. The Special Permit (DOT-SP 14796) authorizes your shipments of the chemical cutter, containing a material forbidden (UNl 746, Bromine Trifluoride, Class 5.1), to be offered for transportation by air aboard cargo aircraft only from the State of Origin. In the case of your granted special permit, the State of Origin authorization is the United States. If the requirements of your granted special permit is preventing packages from being shipped via air transportation to specific foreign destinations, we suggest you apply for an exemption as prescribed in 1.1.3 of the ICAO Technical Instructions, or seek authorization from the specific States of Overflight, and Destination, or both. I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, ~~4v~ T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> June 4, 2019 RE: Request for letter of interpretation on labeling requirements for PIH commodity Mr. Shane Kelley Director, Standards and Rulemaking Division U.S. DOT/PHMSA (PHH-10) 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE East Building, 2nd Floor Washington, DC 20590 Dear Mr. Shane Kelley, We would like assistance on how to address the following issue with airlines who have rejected our shipments. We ship UN1746, Bromine Trifluoride, a poison-inhalation hazard, zone B, per DOT-SP 14796 via cargo aircraft. Airlines have rejected our shipments because of the Poison- Inhalation Hazard Label that we affix to the packages. They claim that the label is not valid and must be replaced with a Toxic substances label as noted in IATA 7.3.14. Unfortunately the PIH label is not found in the IATA book. Since these shipments must go via ground transport before heading to the airline, how do we go about ensuring we fulfill 49CFR regulations to use the PIH label when airlines want to see the Toxic label instead? Is a marking indicating PIH sufficient in conjunction with a toxic 6.1 label? Thank you for your assistance, ·~ Michel Cha1mnas ---- Chamrnas Cutters Inc. 11320 FM 529, BLDG I HOUSTON, TX 77041 TEL 713-856-8777 FAX 713-856-8738 ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `a567529e64a85f76c9e5e896da56caa9ce646a2d4a1559431b6100a0327cc1e3` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-25T20:25:14.429Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-19-0074-96c79225db` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Chammas Cutters Inc." ], "individuals": [ "Michel Chammas" ], "refIds": [ "19-0074" ], "catalogDates": [ "2020-03-11" ], "catalogParts": [ 171, 172 ], "catalogRowCount": 2, "sourceRecordUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/node/72001" ], "linkedAttachmentUrls": [], "unavailableResponseUrls": [], "duplicateRepresentationUrls": [], "citedSections": [ "171.23", "171.23(b)(IO)(iv)", "172.429" ], "catalogPageUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/17123", "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/regulations/title49/section/172429" ], "pdfUrls": [ "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/73551/190074.pdf" ], "representations": [ { "viewUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/73551/190074.pdf", "detailUrl": null, "detailHtmlPath": null, "pdfUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/73551/190074.pdf", "pdfArtifactPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/19-0074-96c79225db-7779adc2b6.pdf", "pdfArtifactSha256": "9273e804264408b5a8c1939f63576dd9d9cbf75ace8b8e8a24de798e373aa3ec", "extractedTextPath": "data/sources/phmsa-interpretations/19-0074-96c79225db-7779adc2b6.v2.txt", "extractedTextSha256": "13148f4f4f72fa39550faf379ce8cd1326cdd6d750444929c69c6eba381027eb", "pageCount": 2, "extractionVersion": 2 } ], "caveat": "Interpretations apply regulations to the facts presented and do not create independently enforceable requirements.", "jurisdiction": "US" } ```