{"operation":"document","citation":"00-0009","title":"Shell Chemical Company — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2000-08-31","effective_on":null,"summary":"00-0009 response to Shell Chemical Company concerning 174.67.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0009.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0009.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0009","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2000/000009.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nS. Departmer\nTransportatic\nWashington, D.C. 20590\n400 Seventh St., S.W.\nAUG 3 1 2000\nMr. William Reinike\nRef. No. 00-0009\nDistribution Representative\nHazardous Materials Coordinator\nShell Chemical Company\nP.O. Box 235\nBelpre, OH 45714\nDear Mr. Reinike:\nThis responds to your letter of November 8, 1999, requesting clarification of the attendance\nrequirements for unloading tank cars under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts\n171-180). Specifically, you ask if your tank car unloading procedures meet the requirements of\n§ 174.67(i). I am sorry for the delay in responding to your inquiry and hope it has not caused you any\ninconvenience.\nSection 174.67(i) of the HMR requires a tank car to be continuously attended throughout the entire\nperiod of unloading and while the tank car is connected to an unloading device. This requirement can\nbe met by human attendance or by use of signaling systems, such as sensors, alarms, and electronic\nsurveillance equipment. Human monitoring must be performed by the person responsible for the\nunloading operation. The attendant may monitor unloading from on-site or from a remote location\nwithin the plant. In either location, the attendant must be knowledgeable about the product, have the\nability to identify conditions requiring action, and have the capability and authority to halt the flow of\nproduct immediately.\nIn your letter, you describe a monitoring arrangement where a technician monitors the unloading\nprocess until the product flow is established and then checks the unloading lines at a minimum of once\nevery half-hour. You state that between inspections, the technician is in the immediate vicinity of the\nunloading racks performing routine tasks. In your letter you also describe the technician's ability to halt\nthe flow of product as follows:\nIn the event of a small leak, the technician can halt the flow of the product by immediately\nclosing the unloading valve on the tank without wearing special protective gear. If the leak\ncreates a spray, the technician would \"suit up\" before closing the valve.\n000009\n11416)\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nIn the event of a larger leak, the technician will shut off the nitrogen purge, located outside the\ncontrol room, \"suit up\" in personal protective gear, then open the vent on the car to further\nrelieve pressure on the product flow.\nProvided the technician has an unobstructed view of the tank car and its unloading connections while\nperforming routine tasks, this arrangement would satisfy the requirements of § 174.67(i).\nI hope this information is helpful. This response was coordinated with the Federal Railroad\nAdministration and is consistent with their enforcement policy. If you have further questions, please do\nnot hesitate to contact this office.\nSincerely,\nThomast. Allan\nThomas G. Allan\nSenior Transportation Regulations Specialist\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards,\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n• i\nShell Chemical Company\nPO Box 235\nBelpre, OH 45714\nNovember 8, 1999\n6444232571\nGale: 2261\nMr. Edward Mazzulo\nDirector,\n740\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards - DHM10\n3174.67\nResearch and Special Programs Administration\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n00 - 0009\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\n+81 3404232386\nDear Mr. Mazzulo,\nWe are asking for you help in clarifying the attendance requirements, as stated in 49CFR 174.67,\nOver the years, we have received various interpretations of 174.67 from several reputable\n\"constant surveillance\", but invariably the reader is not given a definition of either term. The\nsources, including RSPA. Each interpretation includes the terms \"attendance\", and in some cases\nlatest interpretation came in the form of HM212, and as far as we know, that ruling has not been\nincorporated in the regulations.\nAs a responsible facility and business, we take pride in our efforts to conduct our operations in a\nprudent, reasonable, and safe manner. And that includes striving to meet the spirit of Federal and\nState regulations. I would like to present an outline of our tank car unloading procedures, as well\nas our training and inspection processes for your review. Will you please do so and tell us if you\nagree that we are meeting the regulatory requirements for human monitoring. I have included a\nfew questions at the end of this letter.\n1.) To save time, I will state that our operating procedures do include the requirements as stated\nin 174.67. Again, we do not have a clear definition of \"attendance\", and that is one of our\nquestions.\n2.) The tank farm unloading facility consists of three unloading racks, each with the capability of\nhandling 3 tank cars. The tank farm control room is in full view of the nearest unloading\nspot, which is approximately 50 feet away.\n-\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n• 5\n2\n3.) The tank farm technician, who is DOT trained and certified, follows all procedures for safe\nunloading. Once the car is relieved of interior pressure and hoses are securely connected, the\ntechnician monitors the unloading process until product flow is established.\nunobstrusted\n4.) During the unloading process, the technician checks the unloading lines at a minimum of\nonce every half-hour. Between inspections, the technician is in the immediate vicinity of the\nview.\nunloading racks performing routine tasks.\nno abstruted vien, can see\n5.) In the event of a small leak, the technician can halt the flow of product by immediately natall.\nSore,\nclosing the unloading valve on the tank car without wearing special protective gear. If the\nleak creates a spray, the technician would \"suit up\" before closing the valve.\n6.) In the event of a larger leak, the technician will shut off the nitrogen purge, located outside\nthe control room, \"suit up\" in personal protective gear, then open the vent on the car to\nfurther relieve pressure on the product flow.\nTraining and Prevention Activities\na.) We have an ongoing leak detection and repair (LDAR) program that includes all flanges and\nvalve packing glands. This program is voluntary, not mandatory.\nb.) We experienced just one unloading hose failure about 15 years ago. The root cause was a\nflex point caused by the piping design on the tank car. We changed the piping configuration,\nwhich eliminated the flex point, and improved our hose inspection procedures. There have\nbeen no failures since then.\nc.) All hoses are pressure tested every six months at 150% of the maximum pressure rating of\n150 psi. The actual pressure testing at 250 psi is four times our operating rate of 60 psi or\nes in one out tested and mage in ose at ali an or set est discarded\nnot repaired.\nd.) Tank farm technicians perform pre-unloading and pre-trip inspections of all rail cars.\nAll nonconformances are noted and handled prior to releasing the cars.\ne.) All technicians, who work in the tank farm, including those providing relief coverage, are\nrequired to be DOT trained and certified. Training includes general awareness &\nfamiliarization and function specific. Refresher training must be completed every 3 years as\nrequired by 49CFR 172.704. Additional training requirements include annual\nHAZWOPPER, which consists of hazardous materials identification, marking, labeling, and\nplacarding requirements, tank car inspection, and emergency response and cleanup.\nf.) At our request, a Bureau of Explosives inspector audits various aspects of our management of\nhazardous materials and wastes. The audit includes tank car unloading procedures.\n-\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\n3\nQuestions:\n• Will you please provide a clear definition of \"attendance\" as it is intended in 174.67(i)?\n• Has the Department of Transportation finalized HM-212, specifically the portion devoted to\nunloading of tank cars? If it has been finalized, when will it be incorporated in the\nregulations? Is the FRA using HM212 or 174.67 for inspection and enforcement?\nLast, but most important, do our tank car unloading procedures and process meet the\nprovisions and requirements as defined by RSPA and stated in the regulations? Will you\nplease tell us if there is something more we must (or should) do to ensure compliance? Your\nanswers and suggestions are very welcomed and appreciated.\nSincerely,\nWalkan\nRif\nWilliam Reinike\nDistribution Representative -\nHazardous Materials Coordinator\nShell Chemical Company","truncated":false,"body_characters":8274}