# Lockheed Martin Government — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation **Citation:** 98-0048 **Type / status:** guidance / guidance **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** Not stated **Published:** 1998-06-17 98-0048 response to Lockheed Martin Government concerning 171.1. ## Document text <<>> - U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, D.C. 400 Seventh Street, S.W. 20590 Research and Administration Special Programs JUN 1 7 1998 Mr. David A. Sutton Rei. No. 98-0048 Pr. Environmental Engineer Lockheed Martin Government Electronic Systems P.O. Box 1027 Moorestown, NJ 08057 Dear Mr. Sutton: This responds to your letter of May 4, 1998, concerning highway transportation requirements for household hazardous wastes under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you request information concerning the applicability of consumer commodity exceptions to household hazardous wastes collected at a central collection site and transported to a disposal facility. You describe a scenario in which citizens transport household hazardous wastes, such as pesticides, paint, aerosols, oil, swimming pool chemicals, and cleaning compounds, to a central pick-up point. After these wastes are dropped off, your company becomes the "offeror" of these hazardous wastes by possession of them for transport in leased vehicles to a designated disposal facility. Your individual questions are 21: 28 addressed below. Q1. Are household hazardous wastes considered consumer commodities under 49 CFR? If so, what are packaging, shipping paper, and placarding requirements for the the marking, labeling, various materials? Al. A consumer commodity, defined in § 171.8 of the HMR, is a material that is packaged and distributed in a form intended or suitable for sale through retail sales agencies or personal instrumentalities • for consumption by individuals for purposes of care or household use. This definition includes the types of household hazardous wastes that you describe in your letter. Consumer commodity exceptions are provided for the following classifications of hazardous materials: Class 2 (compressed gases), Class 3 (flammable and combustible liquids), Class 4 (flammable solids), Division 5.1 (oxidizers), Division 5.2. <<>> 2 (organic peroxides), Division 6.1 (poisonous), Class 8 be found in (corrosives), and Class 9 (miscellaneous). SS 173.150 - 173.155 and § 173.306 of the HMR. In These exceptions can general, the HMR permit materials that meet the definition of a consumer commodity and that are packaged as provided in the appropriate limited quantity packaging section to be renamed "Consumer commodity" and reclassed as ORM-D. In addition to the exceptions from labeling, placarding, and specification packaging requirements provided for limited quantities, highway shipments of ORM-D materials are not subject to the shipping paper requirements of the HMR unless they are also hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, or marine pollutants. of the HMR, a "hazardous waste" means any material that is For purposes subject to the Hazardous Waste Manifest Requirements of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as specified in 40 CFR part Waste material that is not subject to the EPA waste manifest requirements is not considered hazardous waste under the HMR and may qualify for the ORM-D exceptions provided in the regulations. Section 173.156 provides for additional exceptions for shipments ORM-D materials that are offered for transportation by a single For example, as provided in § 173.156 (b) (1), offeror for transportation to a disposal facility are excepted from the requirements of the HMR provided the materials are unitized in cages, carts, boxes, or similar overpacks and are transported by private or contract motor carrier. In the situation you describe in your letter, the household hazardous wastes that you consolidate and transport to a disposal facility may qualify for the exception provided in § 173.156 (b) (1). Q2. If the material is not a consumer commodity, do the classifications stated under the Hazardous Materials Table apply and should the marking, labeling, packaging, placarding, and shipping paper requirements for the various materials reflect this? A2. In general, your understanding is correct. include a number of exceptions for specific materials depending However, the HMR on the quantity being transported and the mode of transportation. Column 8A of the Hazardous Materials Table lists the section or sections of the regulations where exceptions for specific materials can be found. 23. If the household hazardous wastes are consolidated into drum containers, does the material lose the consumer commodity classification (if it was considered a consumer commodity prior to consolidation into large containers) and, if so, would the <<>> - .. 3 other requirements for marking, labeling, packaging, placarding, and shipping papers under 49 CFR automatically apply to those containers? A3. No. As stated in the response to question 1 above, consumer or similar overpacks. commodities ORM-D may be unitized in carts, cages, drums, boxes, Such shipments are excepted from the requirements of the HMR when shipped by a single offeror to a disposal facility and transported by a private or contract carrier. 04. Does a hazardous waste facility that receives a shipment of household hazardous wastes that is not in compliance with shipment of marking, labeling, packaging, placarding, and shipping paper CER? requirements under 49 CFR expose itself to any liability under 49 • A4. No. The HMR apply to shippers and carriers of hazardous materials. You are responsible for the materials you offer for transportation or transport yourself. Your letter notes that many municipalities are now establishing programs to collect household hazardous wastes from residents and expresses concern that these municipalities may not be transporting the wastes in compliance with the HMR. You may be interested to know that shipments of hazardous materials transported by a government entity in vehicles operated by government personnel for noncommercial purposes are not subject to the HMR. I hope this information is helpful. If you need anything further, please do not hesitate to contact me. Sincerely, Allar Senior Transportation Regulations Specialist Office of Hazardous Materials Standards <<>> . =. Gorsky 171. 4 May 1998 U.S. Department of Transportation 400 Seventh Street S.W. Research and Special Programs Administration Washington, D.C. Attn. Edward T. Mazzullo, Director, 20590 Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Re: 49 CFR USDOT Regulations Applicable to Highway Transport of Household Hazardous Waste Dear Mr. Mazzullo: With regard to the subject matter, we hold a household hazardous waste (HHW) collection event at our Day. We collect up to about 12,000 Ibs. of various forms of HHW which may exhibit hazardous qualities facility for our employees and residents of the local community on an annual basis in recognition of Earth such as flaminability, corrosivity or toxicity. Such items include: flammable solvent based paints, thinners, stains, varnishes, aerosol paints, adhesives, gasoline, combustible asphalt coatings and tars, waste oil, corrosive household cleaners, swimming pool chemicals (which may be oxidizers), and photographic It is clear to me that the regulations under 40 CFR RCRA provide an exclusion for HHW but I find it from personal residences and is therefore non-industrial and non-commercial. The containers are difficult to determine how the USDOT regulations apply to this material. All the material is generated available to consumers and contain concentrations of chemicals that reflect this. Our program offers an opportunity to our employees and the residents in our community to dispose of this material in a sound environmentally considerate and safe manner, and eliminates the need for them to drive the materials to a County HHW facility some distance away. We collect and consolidate the waste into drum containers and cardboard boxes and transport it to the County HHW facility on our leased vehicles. Specific questions I have include: labeling, packaging, and shipping paper and placarding requirements for the various materials? (1) Are these materials considered consumer commodities under 49 CFR? If so, what are the marking, (2) If the material is not considered a consumer commodity do the classifications stated under the paper requirements for the various materials reflect this? Hazardous Maturials Table apply and should the marking, labeling, packaging, placarding and shipping (3) If the HHW is consolidated into drum containers does the material lose the consumer commodity and if so would the other requirements marking, labeling, packaging, placarding and shipping paper classification (if it was considered a consumer commodity prior to consolidation into larger containers) requirements under 49 CFR automatically apply to those containers? (4) Does a HHW facility that receives a shipment of HHW that is not in compliance with marking, liability under 49 CFR? labeling, packaging, placarding and shipping paper requirements under 49 CFR expose itself to any It is my experience that this activity is gaining popularity and that municipalities are now establishing ollecting this material and then transporting the HHW on municipal vehicles to County HHW facilit monthly or quarterly programs to collect HHW on behalf of their residents. The municipal employees al <<>> = locations. In many cases the municipal employees do not package the waste responsibly let alone in accordance with 49 CFR because they are under the impression that the HHW is exempt waste. I do not wish to discourage or inhibit the practice of collecting HHW and I don't feel that it is necessary to regulate HHW as industrial or commercial hazardous material or waste but I do feel some guidance is required from the USDOT and perhaps the USEPA so that these activities can be conducted in the safest manner possible. would greatly appreciate any guidance or assistance that you can provide on this matter and I will I rtain to share the information with other interested partie Please call me. : (609) 722-2578 if you have any questions. Yours truly; Davil A Suth Pr. Environmental Engineer David A. Sutton x/c: file --- -- - -- , w. ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa` - SHA-256: `94fa2efb1e27fe9a11c56ed33728dd982213abf535e0f0d144728d5d6c28bb7e` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T00:59:31.977Z - Exported: 2026-08-24T15:45:12.892Z - Document slug: `phmsa-interpretation-98-0048` ### Source metadata ```json { "materialSubtype": "interpretation", "interpretationArea": "hazardous_materials", "representation": "full_text_from_official_pdf", "companies": [ "Lockheed Martin Government" ], "individuals": [ "Mr. David A. 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