{"operation":"document","citation":"02-0065","title":"Glen Gillaspia — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2002-05-16","effective_on":null,"summary":"02-0065 concerning 174.67.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-02-0065.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-02-0065.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-02-0065","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2002/020065.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\n400 Seventh St., S.W.\nSpecial Programs\nResearch and\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nAdministration\nMAY 16 2002\nMr. Glen Gillaspia\n415 Lookout Lane\nRef. No. 02-0065\nDickenson, TX 77539\nDear Mr. Gillaspia:\nThis is in response to your February 25, 2002 letter concerning attendance requirements for rail\ntank car unloading under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180).\nSpecifically, you ask if you could have one camera monitor two tank cars by switching the video\nimage from one car to the other every ten seconds.\nThe arrangement you describe does not conform to the monitoring requirements of § 174.67(i)\nnd while the tank car is connected to an unloading device. Enclosed is a letter from Thoma:\nvhich requires a tank car to be continuously attended throughout the entire period of unloadin\nAllan (Ref. No. 99-0217) of our office which further clarifies this issue.\nI hope this satisfies your request.\nSincerely,\nDelmer F. Billings\nChief, Standards Development\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\nEnclosure\n174.67\n020065\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\n•\nlashington, D\n0 Seventh Street, S.\n20590\nSpeed Programs\nAdministration\nNOV 2 3 1999\nMr. Carlton W. Hendrix\nRef. No. 99-0217\nDOT Compliance Manager\nLaRoche Industries Inc.\n1100 Johnson Ferry Road, NE\nAtlanta, Georgia 30342\nDear Mr. Hendrix:\nThis responds to your letter of August 3, 1999, requesting clarification of the attendance\nrequirements for unloading tank cars under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR\nParts 171-180). Specifically, you ask for clarification of requirements for monitoring unloading\noperations with remote cameras and for leaving unloading connections attached to a tank car\nwhen no product is being transferred.\nSection 174.67(i) of the HMR requires a tank car to be continuously attended throughout the\nentire period of unloading and while the tank car is connected to an unloading device. This\nrequirement can be met by human attendance or by use of signaling systems, such as sensors,\nalarms, and electronic surveillance equipment. Human monitoring must be performed by the\nperson responsible for the unloading operation. The attendant may monitor unloading from on-\nsite or from a remote location within the plant. In either location, the attendant must be\nknowledgeable about the product, have the ability to identify conditions requiring action, and\nhave the capability and authority to halt the flow of product immediately.\nIn your letter, you describe a remote monitoring arrangement that involves five different\ncameras, including one focused on the tank car unloading process, flashing to the same monitor\nso that each camera's field of view appears on the monitor once every 1.5 minutes. Thi\nrangement does not conform to the requirements for monitoring the unloading of a tank ca\noutlined above. Observing an unloading operation once every 1.5 minutes is not continuous\nmonitoring.\nYou also describe an arrangement where two cameras, located at each end of four tank cars\ncoupled together, are positioned so that two cars are visible in each camera's field of view.\nProvided the two cameras allow the attendant a continuous, unobstructed view of each tank car\nand its unloading connections, this arrangement would satisfy the attendance requirements of\n§ 174.67(i).\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nFinally, you ask whether a facility may leave unloading connections attached to a tank car when\nno product is being transferred as long as the tank car is attended by a qualified person or by\nremote monitoring devices. The answer is no. Section 174.67(j) requires all unloading\nconnections to be disconnected if the unloading operation is discontinued for any reason.\nremain attached to unloading connections when no product is being transferred. Currently, the\nHowever, numerous facilities hold an exemption from the regulations to permit a tank car to\nResearch and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) has issued about 80 exemptions that\nauthorize the use of video cameras, process control gauges, flow gauges, and monitors to observe\ntank cars with unloading connections attached when no product is being transferred. Under a\nnotice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published under Docket HM-212 (57 FR 42466), RSPA\nprovisions and to allow tank cars to remain standing with unloading connections attached wher\nproposed to amend the tank car unloading requirements to remove obsolete or unnecessar\nno product is being transferred. We are in the process of drafting the final rule for this\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact\nthis office.\nSincerely,\nThomas G. Allan\nSenior Transportation Regulations Specialist\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\nEnclosure\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nFEB 25 2002 14:31 FR UNION CARBIDE\n409 948 5065 TO 912023663012\n• P.02/02\n•\nJohnsen\n8174.676)\nMr. Mazzullo.\n2/25/2002\nCargo Tanks\nI am writing this letter to see if my thoughts about attendance when unloading tank cars is OK\n00-0065\nwith the DOT. We currently unload one car of Nony/phenol (Alkylphenols, Liquid n.o.s.(phenol, nonyl.\nB, UN3145, PGIII). This tank car is monitored with a remote camera and has emergency shutdowns if\nneeded. We are in compliance on this tank.\nMy questions is. We have another tank car of the same product next to the one that is monitored\nexplaining it good enough for you. If not please call me at 409-948-5267.\nIf this were pussible to do, it would free up onc of our employces for other duties. I hope I am\nThank You Very much.\nStern Secluspea\nGlenn Gillaspia\nGlenn\n1-808\n248-6641 Pager\n** TOTAL PAGE.02 **","truncated":false,"body_characters":5620}