Glen Gillaspia — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation 400 Seventh St., S.W. Special Programs Research and Washington, D.C. 20590 Administration MAY 16 2002 Mr. Glen Gillaspia 415 Lookout Lane Ref. No. 02-0065 Dickenson, TX 77539 Dear Mr. Gillaspia: This is in response to your February 25, 2002 letter concerning attendance requirements for rail tank car unloading under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask if you could have one camera monitor two tank cars by switching the video image from one car to the other every ten seconds. The arrangement you describe does not conform to the monitoring requirements of § 174.67(i) nd while the tank car is connected to an unloading device. Enclosed is a letter from Thoma: vhich requires a tank car to be continuously attended throughout the entire period of unloadin Allan (Ref. No. 99-0217) of our office which further clarifies this issue. I hope this satisfies your request. Sincerely, Delmer F. Billings Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Enclosure 174.67 020065#

Page 2• lashington, D 0 Seventh Street, S. 20590 Speed Programs Administration NOV 2 3 1999 Mr. Carlton W. Hendrix Ref. No. 99-0217 DOT Compliance Manager LaRoche Industries Inc. 1100 Johnson Ferry Road, NE Atlanta, Georgia 30342 Dear Mr. Hendrix: This responds to your letter of August 3, 1999, requesting clarification of the attendance requirements for unloading tank cars under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask for clarification of requirements for monitoring unloading operations with remote cameras and for leaving unloading connections attached to a tank car when no product is being transferred. Section 174.67(i) of the HMR requires a tank car to be continuously attended throughout the entire period of unloading and while the tank car is connected to an unloading device. This requirement can be met by human attendance or by use of signaling systems, such as sensors, alarms, and electronic surveillance equipment. Human monitoring must be performed by the person responsible for the unloading operation. The attendant may monitor unloading from on- site or from a remote location within the plant. In either location, the attendant must be knowledgeable about the product, have the ability to identify conditions requiring action, and have the capability and authority to halt the flow of product immediately. In your letter, you describe a remote monitoring arrangement that involves five different cameras, including one focused on the tank car unloading process, flashing to the same monitor so that each camera's field of view appears on the monitor once every 1.5 minutes. Thi rangement does not conform to the requirements for monitoring the unloading of a tank ca outlined above. Observing an unloading operation once every 1.5 minutes is not continuous monitoring. You also describe an arrangement where two cameras, located at each end of four tank cars coupled together, are positioned so that two cars are visible in each camera's field of view. Provided the two cameras allow the attendant a continuous, unobstructed view of each tank car and its unloading connections, this arrangement would satisfy the attendance requirements of § 174.67(i).#

Page 3Finally, you ask whether a facility may leave unloading connections attached to a tank car when no product is being transferred as long as the tank car is attended by a qualified person or by remote monitoring devices. The answer is no. Section 174.67(j) requires all unloading connections to be disconnected if the unloading operation is discontinued for any reason. remain attached to unloading connections when no product is being transferred. Currently, the However, numerous facilities hold an exemption from the regulations to permit a tank car to Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) has issued about 80 exemptions that authorize the use of video cameras, process control gauges, flow gauges, and monitors to observe tank cars with unloading connections attached when no product is being transferred. Under a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published under Docket HM-212 (57 FR 42466), RSPA provisions and to allow tank cars to remain standing with unloading connections attached wher proposed to amend the tank car unloading requirements to remove obsolete or unnecessar no product is being transferred. We are in the process of drafting the final rule for this I hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely, Thomas G. Allan Senior Transportation Regulations Specialist Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Enclosure#

Page 4FEB 25 2002 14:31 FR UNION CARBIDE 409 948 5065 TO 912023663012 • P.02/02 • Johnsen 8174.676) Mr. Mazzullo. 2/25/2002 Cargo Tanks I am writing this letter to see if my thoughts about attendance when unloading tank cars is OK 00-0065 with the DOT. We currently unload one car of Nony/phenol (Alkylphenols, Liquid n.o.s.(phenol, nonyl. B, UN3145, PGIII). This tank car is monitored with a remote camera and has emergency shutdowns if needed. We are in compliance on this tank. My questions is. We have another tank car of the same product next to the one that is monitored explaining it good enough for you. If not please call me at 409-948-5267. If this were pussible to do, it would free up onc of our employces for other duties. I hope I am Thank You Very much. Stern Secluspea Glenn Gillaspia Glenn 1-808 248-6641 Pager ** TOTAL PAGE.02 **#