{"operation":"document","citation":"03-0094","title":"Inland Paperboard and Packaging, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2004-10-22","effective_on":null,"summary":"03-0094 response to Inland Paperboard and Packaging, Inc. concerning 173.197.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-03-0094.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-03-0094.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-03-0094","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2003/030094.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nOCT 22\n2004\nWashington, D.C. 20590\n400 Seventh St., S.W.\nResearch and\nspecial Programs\nAdministration\nMs. Nadine Helm\nReference No. 03-0094\nOffice Manager\nInland Paperboard and Packaging, Inc.\n136 East York Street\nBiglerville, PA 17307\nDear Ms. Helm:\nThis is in response to a request from Ms. Sally Banks of your company concerning the\nrecordkeeping requirements contained in § 178.601(1) of the Hazardous Materials Regulations\n(HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). She asked if the fiberboard box manufacturer or the facility that\npackages the hazardous material is required to retain the test report certifying that a knocked-\ndown, unassembled UN 4G fiberboard box meets the performance test requirements in 49 CFR\nPart 178, Subpart M. Your company manufactures the box and prints the UN certification mark\non the box on behalf of your customer, the UN standard package assembling facility, who\nperforms and certifies the test results for the completed hazardous materials packagings. We\napologize for the delay in responding and any inconvenience it may have caused.\nUnder the HMR, a fiberboard box manufacturer who provides knocked down, unassembled\nboxes that are certified by its customer as meeting a UN standard and assembled by the customer\nis considered to be a packaging component manufacturer, A packaging component manufacturer\nneed not maintain any record of testing done on the assembled UN 4G packaging even when it\nmay have marked the outer packaging with a certification at its customer's behest. Both the UN\nstandard packaging facility and/or a third-party approval agency certifying design qualification\ntests and periodic retests must ensure the tasks you perform as a component manufacturer are\ndone in accordance with the HMR, and they must produce and retain test reports as prescribed in\n§ 178.601(I).\nThe test reports must be maintained at each location where the packaging is manufactured and\neach location where the design qualification tests are conducted, for as long as the packaging is\nproduced and for at least two years thereafter. In addition, the test reports must be maintained at\neach location where the periodic retests are conducted until such tests are successfully performed\n178.601 (K) (1)\n030094\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nagain and a new test report produced. When requested, the test report must be made available to\na user of the packaging or a representative of the Department of Iransportation.\nI hope this satisfies your request.\nSincerely,\nHattie L. Mitchell, Chief\nRegulatory Review & Reinvention\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n03731/63\n13:17 FAX 717 677 7016\n-CUST SERVICE\nØ001\nEdmonson\n$118.601 (к)(1)\nPackaging\nINLAND\n03 - 0094\n1 Tample-frland Comparry\nfacsimule tansm\nTo:\nLato Center / Ed Mazzullo\nFax:\n202-366-3753\nFrom: Sally Banks\nDate:\n3/31/3\nRe:\nHAZMAT Letter of Interprétation\nPages: 4\nCC:\nFax:\n• Urgent\nD For Review\n• Please Comment\n• Please Reply\n• Please Recycle\n•\n•\n•\nMy customer is telling me that the box manufacturer is not required to retain a\ncopy of the certification letter. All the recent HAZMAT training we have had at our\nfacility tells me otherwise. The customer has referred me to a letter they received\nfrom DOT, but is 10 years old. My facility ships out a flat, printed, comugate\ncontainer. I have been under the impression that by printing the un certification\nmarking on a carton you need to have a copy of the certification letter in case of\nan audit. My questions to you are:\n1. Must Inland have a copy of the certification letter on file to avoid penalties and\nfines should a problem arise?\n2. Without copies of certification paperwork, we would not be able to guarantee\nwe were running the proper board grade or printing per the certification.\nWould DOT look to the actual packing facility or would it fall back to the box\nmanufacturer?\nAny answers you can give me would be greatly appreciated. My fax number is\n717-677-7016 and direct line is 717-677-3156. Thank you for your time.\nSally Banks\nSales Service\nCONFIDENTIAL\n• • •\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n03/31/03\n13:17 FAX 717 677 7016\nCUST SERVICE\n@002\nThe U.S. Department of Transportation\n(DOT) Inspection\nInspections\nThe Hazardous Maserials Regulations (HMR) authorize federal inspections of any facility that\na inspection. Regional DOT field offices have been established for this purpose. Following are som\nanufactures hazmat packages [§173.3(a)]. All facilities that manufacture hazmat packages should expe\nguidelines to help prepare for an inspection:\n• Designate a person (and, if possible, an alternate) who will accompany the inspector.\n• Interview the inspector prior to conducting any tour, if possible:\n- Determine the purpose for the inspection.\n- Find out what the inspector wants to see.\n- Attempt to keep the inspection focused.\nA written evaluation will be provided at the end of the inspection. Review it and keep it If violations are\ncited, respond within the given timeframe.\nKeeping Records\nhazmat records. Production files should include:\nUnless the inspector is investigating a specific incident, the focus of a box plant inspection is typically the\n• Records of the materials used and the box design. These must be kept at least two years from\nfinal production.\n• Proof of testing of certified packages, such as certification reports or other reasonable substitutes.\n• Customer communications, such as authorizations of print cards, desiga info forms, etc.\n• Appropriate quality assurenco systems and doculaentation necessary to comply with the\n• If you are the certifyang party, a copy of the instructions to the customer for assembly and\nrequirements of §178.516.\nclosure, as appropriate. These must be kept at least two years from issuance.\n• Hazmat training documentation.\nIt may be useful to provide a \"model file\" to ensure that all pertinent information is obtained and filed. In\nanticipation of inspections, consider duplicate files for hazmat orders (if the customer's file is required\nelsewhere) or some kind of hazmat order flagging system.\nAnlands. Hazmat\nPage fir\nmanual.\ntRaining\n12\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\n03/31/03 13:18 FAX 717_677 7016\nCUST, SERVICE\n0003\nof Transportation\nUS. Department\nWashingion DC\nSpecial Programs\nResearch and\nAdministrution\nFEB 10 1994\nMs. Michelle Jepsen\nDistribution Compliance Coordinator\nAmes, Iowa 50010\nPost Office Box 907\nDear Ms. Jepsen:\nThis is la response to your letter of December 2, 1993, and subsequent\nsunmarized in the following paragraphs:\nFacts:\n49 CFR 178.3(a) (2) requires that a packaging manufactured to a UN standard be\n\"with the\n32333032\nsubchapter.\"\n49 CFR 178.601(k) requires that \"the person who certifies the tested design\nperiodic retests) \"at each location where that packaging is manufactured\" and\ntype\" shall keep records of performance tests (desigo qualification tests and\nat each location where design qualification tests and periodić retests axe\nconducted.\nHach Company Is a registered manufacturer (M4508) of a variety of UN 4G\npackagings are manufactured \"knocked down\" (I.e., flat and unassembled) by\nfiberboard boxes which are conbination packagings.\nThe outer fiberboard\nHach's direction, vith a specification marking which uses Hach's registration\nvarlous fiberboard box manufacturers and marked by these manufacturers,\nfac1lity. Performance testing (design qualification and periodic retests) is\nThe combination packagings are assembled at Hach's Anes, Iowa\ntesting is done at the fiberboard box manufacturers' locations and no test\nperforned at the Hach facility and test records are retalned there.\nrecords are kept.\n1364\nAplofz\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\n03/31/03\n13:18_ FAX 717 677 7016\n-_ CUST SERVICE\nØ004\n2\nIssues:\nAre the fiberboard box manufacturers required to keep test records at their\nviolation of § 178.3(b)?\nmanufacturing facilities? If they do not have test records, are they in\nInterpretation:\nthe fiberboard box manufacturers are not required to keep tesi\nheir manufacturing facilitles and axe not in violation of §':178.3(b) If the\nrecords at\ndo not keep test records.\nDiscussion:\nIhrough display of its registratíon number as part of the UN standard\nmarking,\nHach is the\n\"manufacturer certifying coupliance with the UN\nstandard\", as required by § 178.3 (a) (2).\nmanufacture the packaging components, it directs their nanufacture througa\nAlthough Hach does not physically\ncontracts vith component manufacturers (e.g.. fiber box and bottle\nfacility.\nmanufacturers) and assembles the components into complete packagings at its\nresponsible for keeping test records, as required by § 178.601(k).\nAs the person certifying compliance, it is obvious that Hach is\nAlthough the Individual box manufacturers are physically applying the marks\ncontractual arrangenent.\naddressed In § 178.3(b), they apply then on behalf of\nIn effect. It is Hach that applies the marks.\nHach,\nthrough\nTherefore, they axe not responsible for establishing that the packaging\nbox manufacturers responsible for compliance with § 178.3(b) Is that they are\nconforms to applicable requirenents. A further arguzent for not holding the\nItself. It is Hach that manufactures the complete packaging.\nmanufacturing a component of a UN packaging, rather than the packaging\nplease contact us.\nI trust this satisfies your inquiry. If we can be of further assistance,\nSincerely.\n42737 gull\nDirector, Office of Hazardous\nMaterials Standards\ncc: Omaha Box Company\nColorado Container Corporation\n1364\n,20f2\nAP","truncated":false,"body_characters":9444}