{"operation":"document","citation":"00-0278","title":"Technology and Management Systems, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2001-02-02","effective_on":null,"summary":"00-0278 response to Technology and Management Systems, Inc. concerning 179.13, 179.22.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0278.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0278.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-00-0278","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2000/000278.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\n400 Seventh Street. S.W.\nof Transportation\nWashington, D.C.\n20590\nFEB - 2 2001\nMr. Phani Raj\nRef. No. 00-0278\nPresident\nTechnology and Management Systems, Inc.\nSuite 210\n99 South Bedford Street\nBurlington, Massachusetts 01803\nDear Mr. Raj:\nThis responds to your letter, dated September 27, 2000, concerning provisions in the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the rail transportation of\nhazardous materials. Your specific questions are paraphrased and answered below.\nQ1. The table in § 171.7 lists material incorporated by reference into the HMR. Do all\nmaterials in the referenced sources become HIMR requirements or only those sections of\nthe referenced sources specifically identified in sections of the HMR?\nA1.\nThe standards and other material listed as matter incorporated by reference in § 171.7 are\nincorporated into the HMR in their entirety. If only a part of an industry or international\nstandard is incorporated into the HMR, the table entry specifies the section or sections of\nthe standard. Thus, the table lists the separate sections of the Association of American\nRailroads (AAR) Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices that are incorporated\nby reference in the HMR. Sections not specifically listed are not incorporated by\nreference.\nQ2.\nIf the HMR refer to particular requirements in a referenced source and the referenced\nsource further references a secondary source, do the pertinent sections of the secondary\nsource automatically become part of the HMR requirements?\nA2. No. Material specifically listed in the table in § 171.7 is incorporated by reference into\nthe HMR. However, secondary sources referred to in the incorporated reference, such as\nthe ASME Code, ASTM Standards, or the AAR Standards, are not thereby incorporated\nby reference. (Note that such secondary sources may separately and directly be\nincorporated by reference elsewhere in the HMR.) In the example you provide in your\nletter, Rule 70 of the AAR Field Manual is referenced in Appendix C of the Tank Car\nHMR.\n000278\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nQ3.\nWhat is the purpose of the requirement in § 179.22 that all tank cars be stenciled? May a\ntank car be loaded with a hazardous material in an amount that exceeds the amount\nspecified on a stencil so long as the HMR provisions concerning outage and filling limits\nare met?\nA3.\nSection 179.22 requires tank cars to be \"marked\" according to the requirements in\nAppendix C of the AAR Specifications for tank cars. A marking is a descriptive name,\nidentification number, instructions, cautions, weight, specification, or UN marks, or a\nombination thereof required by the HMR. The purpose of referencing Appendix C o\nhe AAR Tank Car Manual is to ensure that all markings required by the HMR are place\nin a location on the tank that is consistent with all other tank cars in transport. Having\nmarkings in the same location on each tank car makes consistent the identification of the\ntank by railroad and emergency response personnel alike.\nstamping. Marking requirements depend on the applicable tank car specification.\nFor tank cars, marking is accomplished by stenciling (applied with paint or decal) and\nGenerally, a tank car must be stamped on both outside heads with the specification\nnumber to which the tank was built, which must also include the material of\nconstruction, cladding material (if any used), tank builder's initials, date of original test,\ncar assemblers initials (if other than tank builder), and water capacity. In addition, a tank\ncar must be stenciled on its side with the tank car specification number, water capacity,\ntest dates, reporting mark, load limit, and other information relevant to the particular\nspecification or the commodity to be transported.\nTank car outage and filling limits for specific commodities are addressed in several\ndifferent places in the HMR. For example, § 173.24b(a) prescribes general outage and\nfilling limits for liquids and liquefied gases. In addition, § 173.314 specifies outage and\nfilling limits for compressed gases in tank cars.\nSection 173.24b(d)(2) states that, unless otherwise provided in the HMR, a tank car may\nnot be loaded with a hazardous material that exceeds the maximum weight of lading\nmarked on the specification plate. For a tank car, the \"specification plate\" means the\ninformation stamped on its outside heads. This marking does not include load limits,\nbecause that is generally a function of the carrying capacity of the underframe, trucks, and\naxle loadings. Thus, federal rules prohibit new construction of cars having a gross weight\non rail that exceeds 263,000 pounds or greater than 34,500 gallon capacity. The\nregulations also prohibit the loading of product into a tank that exceeds the outage\nrequirements in 173.24b and 173.314. 'The HMR do not currently specify load limits for\ntank cars.\nQ4.\nShould the words \"specification plate\" as used in § 173.24b(d)(2), be interpreted as the\nword \"stencil\" when applying this section to tank cars?\nA4.\nAs stated above, the term specification plate means the stamping located on each tank car\nhead.\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n•\nQ5.\nIs it correct that § 179.13 addresses limitations on a tank car's maximum size (by weight\nor capacity) rather than the maximum allowable load limit (as indicated by its stencil\nmarking)?\nAS.\nYour understanding is correct. Section 179.13 sets the upper limit for the maximum\ncapacity and weight of any tank car built or converted after November 30, 1970. The\nload limit of a tank car is the difference between the maximum permissible gross weight\non rail (based on the axle size) and the lightweight of the car. In addition, cars may not be\noverloaded by volume (See § 173.24b)\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact\nthis office.\nSincerely,\none All\nThomas G. Allan\nTransportation Regulations Specialist\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nGorsku\n110.13\n179.22\nSeptember 27, 2000\nMarking t\nTMS\nResearch & Special Programs Administration\nOffice of Hazardous Materiale Standards (DHM-10) WejahtLim, tation\nInc.\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nWASHINGTON, DC 20590-0001\nREFERENCE:\nFormal Interpretation of Hazardous Materials Regulations\nSUBJECT:\nRequest for formal clarifications on certain HMR Provisions\nGentlemen:\nPursuant to the provisions of 49CFR §107.14, I request your formal response to the following\nquestions related to the transportation of hazardous materials on rail.\nThe table in 49CFR §170.7 indicates a number of referenced sources. Should one construe\nthe provisions/requirements/specifications in these referenced materials as being a part of the\nprovisions/requirements/specifications of the 49CFR? Do all materials in the referenced\nsources become requirements of 49CFR or only those sections of the referenced sources\nspecifically identified in the 49CFR sections become formal requirements?\n2\nIf a 49CFR section refers to particular requirements in a referenced source and the referenced\nsource further references a secondary source, do the pertinent sections of the secondary\nsource become automatically a part of the 49CFR requirements? Let me give an example to\nhighlight this issue.\n49CFR $179.22 (a) (October 1, 1998 version) on \"Marking\" requires that \"Each tank car\nmust be marked according to the requirements in Appendix Cof AAR Specification for Tank\nCars.\" Section C7.00 \"Load Limit Stencil\", subsection (d) of Appendix C of Tank Car\nSpecifications indicates that \"Load limit is the difference between the total weight on rail for\nthe journal size and the scale light weight of the car. See Field manual Rule 70.B.3.b.\"\nhazardous material and with a gross weight exceeding the maximum permissible weight\nspecified (for the particular journal size) in Rule 70 (or for that matter in Rule 91) of the\nTechnology & Management Systems, Inc.\n99 South Bedford Street, Suite 210 + Burlington, MA 01803-5153 + Tel 781-272-3033 + Fax 781-272-5038\n• E-Mail: tmsinc@tiac.net +\nPage 1 of 2\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\n•\n3\nWhat is the regulatory purpose of requiring that all tank cars be \"Stenciled?\" (49CFR\n§179.22 in the October 1, 1998 version and §179-100.21 in versions earlier than 1996). How\nare the specification on a stencil enforced by US DOT? There does not seem to be any\nrequirement prohibiting the carrying of a hazardous material in a tank car in excess of the\namount (weight or volume) specified on the stencil so long as the provisions of 49CFR\n§173.24b (a) \"outage and filling limits\" are complied with. Please clarify the HM regulations\nregarding the enforcement of stenciled amounts.\n4\nmaterial that exceeds the maximum weight of the lading marked on the specification plate.\"\n49CFR §$173.24b (d) (2) states \"A bulk packaging may not be loaded with a hazardous\nIn the case of the tank car since there is no \"specification plate\" and stencil is the medium\nthat \"specifies\" the lading weight, do the provisions of this subsection apply to a tank car?\nShould the words \"specification plate\" be interpreted as the word \"stencil\" when the\napplicability of this subsection to a tank car is being evaluated? Please note that §173.24b\n(a) clearly applies to a tank car.\n5\nMy interpretation of the provisions in 49CFR §179.13 \"Tank car capacity and gross weight\nI look forward to receiving your formal interpretation to the above questions at the earliest possible\ntime.\nYours truly,\nPRomi Ray\nPresident\nTechnology & Management Systems, Inc.\n99 South Bedford Street, Suite 210 + Burlington, MA 01803-5153 + Tel 781-272-3033 + Fax 781-272-5038\n• E-Mail: tmsinc@tiac.net+\nPage 2 of 2","truncated":false,"body_characters":9653}