# Regulatory Compliance Services — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** 00-0201
- **title:** Regulatory Compliance Services — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation
- **source type:** guidance
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** guidance
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2000-09-25
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** 00-0201 response to Regulatory Compliance Services concerning 172.101.
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- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0201
- **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2000/000201.pdf
**body:**

<<<PAGE 1>>>

of Transportation
U.S. Department
Washington, D.C
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
20590
Special Programs
Research and
Administration
SEP 2 5 2000
Mr. Chris Corea
Ref. No. 00-0201
Regulatory Compliance Services
6740 Huntley Road
Suite 203
Worthington, Ohio
43229
Dear Mr. Corea:
This is in response to your letter dated July 20, 2000,
requesting clarification on the proper shipping name for
denatured alcohol under the Hazardous Materials Regulations
(HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). In your letter you reference
"Flammable liquids n.o.s., 3, UN1993," and "Alcohols, n.o.s.,
three shipping names: "Ethanol solutions, 3, UN1170, "
3, UN1987." Specifically, you asked which shipping name is
most appropriate for a denatured alcohol.
Under $ 173.22, it is the shipper's responsibility to properly
classify a hazardous material and assign it a proper shipping
name from the Hazardous
Materials Table (HMT). For a material
not specifically identified by name in the HMT, the HMR
requires that the material be described by the shipping name
that "most appropriately describes" the material.
In some
cases, more than one shipping name could "most appropriately
describe" a material.
However, it is the opinion of this
Office that the shipping name "Ethanol solutions" most
appropriately describes denatured alcohol.
I hope this satisfies your request.
Sincerely,
Delmer E. Billings
Chief, Standards Development
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards
172:101(c)
000201

<<<PAGE 2>>>

REGULATORY COMPLIANCE SERVICES
BAH
§172-101(c)
.C..C..2:1
July, 20, 2000
Mr. Edward T. Mazzullo
U.S. DOT/RSPA (DHM-10)
Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards
400 7th Street S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20590-0001
RE:
Proper Shipping Description of Denatured Ethano/
Dear Mr. Mazzullo,
Denatured Alcohol.
This letter is a request for interpretation regarding the proper shipping description of
During my course of research, the three descriptions found most in industry are the following:
"Ethánol Solutions, 3, UN1170" or
"Flammable Liquids n.o.s., 3, UN1993"
"Alcohols, n.o.s., 3, UN1987"
From the selections, I can understand the reasoning behind the three:
Ethanol Solutions - the majority of the product is composed of Ethanol with approximately 5
percent of Isopropanol and/or Methanol. Since the product is not entirely composed of
Ethanol, the "Ethanol Solutions" designation is used as the proper shipping description.
Flammable Liquids n.o.s. - although the majority of the product is Ethanol, the other
constituents (Isopropanol and/or Methanol) contribute to the overall hazard or flammability.
As such the designation of a "Flammable Liquid, N.O.S." seems an accurate shipping
description.
Alcohols, n.o.s. - ail constituents found in the product are alcohols (ethyl alcohol, methy!
alcohol, isopropyl alcohol). As such, this description seems to accurately describe the
material because they all contribute to the hazard
any interpretation that can be provided would be greatly appreciated. If you have any further
Denatured alcohol is a hazardous material prevalently used throughout all of industry and
questions or concerns regarding this issue, please do not hesitate to contact me at the office
at (614) 888-8825 ext. 14. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.
Very Tryly Your
Chris Corea
Senior Technical Consultant - RCS, Inc.
6740 HUNTLEY ROAD - SUITE 203 WORTHINGTON, OHIO 43229 PHONE: (614) 888-8825 FAX: (614) 841-1372
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