{"operation":"document","citation":"04-0261","title":"Dangerous Goods Advisory — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2005-10-11","effective_on":null,"summary":"04-0261 response to Dangerous Goods Advisory concerning 178.503.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-04-0261.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-04-0261.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-04-0261","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2004/040261.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nof Transportation\nU.S. Department\nWashington, D.C. 20590\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nHazardous Materials Safety\nPipeline and\nAdministration\nOCT 1 1 2005\nMr. Alan I. Roberts\nPresident\nRef. No.: 04-0261\nDangerous Goods Advisory Council\nWashington, DC 20005-5484\n1100 H Street NW, Suite 740\nDear Mr. Roberts:\nThis is in response to your November 8, 2004 letter requesting\nclarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49\nCFR Parts 171-180). Please accept my apology for our delay in\nresponding and any inconvenience this may have caused.\nSpecifically you ask this office to reconsider its previous\ninterpretation regarding submitted examples of stenciled\nUnited Nations (UN) symbol markings (Ref. No.: 02-0265).\nThe markings as shown in the examples from the letter from Mr.\nRoland M. Kelley of Sandia National Laboratories do not\nconform to the requirements in § 178.503. However, a stencil\nwith the minimum gap necessary to support the center of the\ncircle with the letters \"u\" and \"n\" is authorized to apply the\nUN symbol to the packaging. We intend to clarify this issue\nin a future rulemaking.\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have further\nquestions, please do not hesitate to intact this office.\nHattie L. Mitchell\nChief,\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\nRegulatory Review and Reinvention\nCc: Mr. Roland M. Kelley, Sandia National Laboratories, P.O.\nBox 5800 MS 1120, Albuquerque, NM 871-5\nITH MINI\n178.503\n040261\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\n-.\nDangerous Goods Advisory Council\nDGAC\nSuite 740 • HStreet Street NW Washington DC 20005 • 202/289-4550 • Fax 202/289-4074 • www.dgac.org\nPollack\nNovember 8, 2004\n$178.503\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards (DHM-10)\nMr. Edward Mazzullo, Director\nMarking of Packagings\nResearch and Special Programs Administration\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n04. 0261\n400 Seventh St., SW\nWashington, DC 20590-0001\nsymbol marking on packagings\nRe: RSPA letter of interpretation dated November 8, 2002 clarifying the UN\nDear Mr. Mazzullo,\nIn response to an enquiry from Sandia National Laboratories, RSPA issued a letter of\nsmall gaps in the circle is not acceptable. The basis of the decision appears to be that the\ninterpretation (copy attached) stating that a stenciled version of the UN symbol containing.\ncircle must be completely solid, as illustrated in § 178.503(e). For various practical\nconșiderations, we ask that you reconsider this decision.\nThere are several techniques packaging manufacturers can employ to produce a durable:\nsymbol and other required information. Of course, by its nature, a stencil leaves small gaps\nmark on a UN certified packaging. A rather common method is to use a stencil for the UN\nin certain symbols, letters and numbers. Viewed from a short distance away, however,\ninformation displayed. To achieve a solid circle requires a second method to apply the\nthese gaps are hardly discernible and the overall effect is complete legibility of the\nworse, results in a less clear marking. Controlling a two-step process with various inks\nsymbol, often a rubber stamp. This action incurs additional expense and, to make matters\nintroduces more variability, which many times results in a smeared image. Stamping on a\nrounded surface contributes to the problem.\nIf a stenciled image is legible to start with and the packaging manufacturer then goes\nf the regulation.\" does this achieve any useful purpose? For this reason we ask that yo\ntrough a more expensive process to achieve a solid, but blurred, image to meet the \"lette\nreconsider your earlier decision and issue a revised interpretation that permits the use of\nstenciling for the circle surrounding the UN symbol.\nSincerely,\nAlan I. Roberts\nPresident\n• DGAC is a leading international membership organization representing all aspects of the hazardous materials/dangerous goods trarisportation industry. +\n• DAC is a leading intemational membership organization representing all aspects of the hazardous materials/dangerous goods transportation industry. •","truncated":false,"body_characters":4008}