Oakite Products, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department 400 Seventh Street, S W of Transportation Washington, D.C 20590 Research and Special Programs Administration APR 2 1 2000 Mr. Barry L. Dance Ref. No. 00-0099 Oakite Products, Inc. Corporate Transportation Manager 13177 Huron River Drive Romulus, MI 48174 Dear Mr. Dance: This is in response to your letter dated March 29, 2000 regarding the definition of a hazardous sübstance under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Under § 171.8, a hazardous substance is defined as a material, including its mixtures and solutions, that: (1) is listed in Appendix A to § 172.101 of the HMR; (2) is in a quantity, in one package, which equals or exceeds its reportable quantity; and (3) is in a concentration by weight which equals or exceeds the concentration corresponding to the Re of the material, as shown in the table under § 171.8. hydroxide (47 percent concentration) in three different In your letter, you state that your company packages sodium packages, one containing 1,410 pounds of sodium hydroxide, and two other packages each containing less than 1,000 pounds of sodium hydroxide. Sodium hydroxide has an RQ of 1,000 pounds. To meet the definition of a hazardous substance, the quantity of sodium hydroxide in each package must equal or exceed 1,000 pounds and 2 percent concentration by weight. You are correct in your understanding that only the package containing 1,410 pounds of sodium hydroxide meets the definition of a hazardous substance. I hope this satisfies your request. Sincerely, Gale Transportation Regulations Specialists Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 1118 000099#

Page 2BAH 51718 Hazsub Chemetall Oakite Fax. (734) 941-2193 Tel. (734) 941-3800 44 7» Internet Address: http://www.oakite.com email: barry.dance@chemetall.com March 29, 2000 00 - 0099 US Department of Transportation onched Special Propert Almitation, Washington, DC 20590 Mr. Billings, I am writing for clarification regarding RQ, Hazardous Substances, and the interpretation of 171.8, Hazardous Substance definition, and 172.203 (c) (2). ingredients. The concentration of the sodium hydroxide is 47%. We package the product in We have a product that is liquid solution of sodium hydroxide, water, and other non-hazardous several different sizes and the solution meets the definition for class 8, PG II. Our shipping of the package is shown in the following table: description is: Sodium Hydroxide, Solution, 8, UN 1824, PG II. We add RQ depending on the size Package net weight RQ added to description 500 Ibs. 50 Ibs. NO NO 3000 Ibs. YES if I properly interpret 171.8 Hazardous Substance definition and 172.203 (c) (2), our 3000-pound net package requires RQ because: 1. Sodium hydroxide is listed in 172.10, Appendix A, Table 1 as a Hazardous Substance 2. The sodium hydroxide net content is 1,410 pounds (47% of 3000) which exceeds the 3. The concentration of the sodium nydroxide in the solution exceeds 2% 1000 Reportable Quantity amount, and The other two packages do not require RQ designation because the net content of sodium 172.10, Appendix A, Table 1. hydroxide in the package does not exceed the 1000 pound Reportable Quantity amount shown in Can you advise if I am properly interpreting the regulations in this example? Sincerely Barry L. Dance Corporate Transportation Manager Oakite Products, Inc. • 13177 Huron River Drive • Romulus, MI 48174#