{"operation":"document","citation":"05-0060","title":"Airspeed Press — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2005-07-01","effective_on":null,"summary":"05-0060 response to Airspeed Press concerning 171.2.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0060.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0060.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0060","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2005/050060.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nof Transportation\nU.S. Department\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nPipeline and\nAdministration\nHazardous Materials Safety\nJUL\n11 2005\nMr. Steven Lindblom\nRef. No. 05-0060\nAirspeed Press\n79 Old Denny Hill Road\nWarner NH 03278\nDear Mr. Lindblom:\nThis responds to your March 9, 2005 letter concerning the applicability of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to DOT specification 3AA, 3AL or\nother SCUBA cylinders. Specifically, you ask whether the HMR apply to cylinders\nowned by individuals for personal use.\nIn accordance with Federal hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5101 et\nseq.), the HMR apply to the transportation of hazardous materials in commerce, including\ntransport hazardous materials in commerce, the HMR establish requirements for their\npackaging intended for such transportation. Specifically with regard to cylinders used to\naccordance with requirements established in the HMR must be marked to indicate that it\ndesign, manufacture, maintenance, and requalification. A cylinder manufactured in\nconforms to all applicable HMR requirements. A cylinder marked to certify that it\nconforms to HMR requirements must be maintained in accordance with applicable\nspecification requirements whether or not it is in transportation in commerce at any\nparticular time. Thus, a DOT specification 3AA, 3AL, or other SCUBA cylinder that is\nmarked to indicate conformance with applicable DOT requirements must be retested and\notherwise maintained in accordance with the HMR whether or not it is being used to\ntransport hazardous materials in commerce.\nThe HMR include specific requirements applicable to the preparation of hazardous\nmaterials for transportation in commerce; such requirements are \"pre-transportation\nfunctions\" (see §§ 171.1 and 171.8). For example, the person offering a hazardous\nmaterial for transportation must class the hazardous material, select an authorized\npackaging, fill and close the packaging, describe the hazardous material on a shipping\npaper, and apply appropriate and markings and labels to the package. A cylinder being\nprepared for transportation in commerce may not be filled to a pressure that exceeds its\nmarked service pressure. You are correct that the HMR requirements applicable to pre-\ntransportation functions do not apply to the transportation of a cylinder by a private\nindividual for personal use. However, we strongly recommend against filling any\ncylinder beyond its marked service pressure in any circumstance, or any cylinder that is\ndue for requalification according to the table in § 180.209 of the HMR.\n171.2\n050060\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nYour specific questions are paraphrased and answered below.\nQ1. Do the HMR apply to a cylinder that is transported to and from a dive shop by a\nprivate individual for personal use? Do the HMR apply to a cylinder that is filled by a\ndive shop and rented to a customer who then transports if off the premises?\nAl. The HMR generally apply to the transportation of hazardous materials in commerce.\nTransportation of hazardous materials by a private individual in a private motor vehicle\nfor personal use is not commercial transportation. Note, however, that a cylinder that is\naccordance with applicable specification requirements whether or not it is in\nmarked to certify that it conforms to HMR requirements must be maintained in\ntransportation in commerce at any particular time.\nQ2. Do the HMR apply to a cylinder that is shipped to a customer by UPS, FedEx, or\nother commercial carrier?\nA2. Yes. A person, such as a dive shop, who offers a hazardous material for\ntransportation in commerce or a person, such as a commercial carrier, who transports a\nhazardous material in commerce is subject to all applicable HMR requirements.\nQ3. Do the HMR apply to a cylinder that is transported by a private individual in a\nprivate motor vehicle for personal use when transported on a public road or a Federal\nhighway?\nA3. See response A1 above.\nQ4. Do the HMR apply to a cylinder that is carried by a private individual on a\ncommercial bus or boat licensed to carry passengers?\nA4. Yes. Passengers and crew members traveling on a commercial bus or vessel are \"in\ncommerce\" and are fully subject to the HMR.\nQ5. Do the HMR apply to a cylinder owned by a private individual who takes it on a\nvessel licensed to carry passengers and has the cylinder filled while on the vessel?\nA5. Yes. See response A5 above.\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nQ6. Do the HMR apply to the transportation of an empty cylinder?\nA6. A cylinder that had contained a non-flammable, non-poisonous gas that has been\nemptied so that the remaining gas in the cylinder exerts an absolute pressure of less than\n280 kPa (40.6 psia) at 20 °C (68 °F) is not subject to the HMR. If offered in commerce,\nmarkings and labels must be removed, obliterated, or securely covered.\nI trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nCise Lay\nSusan Gorsky\nActing Director\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nWebb\nfile: 1712\nApplicabiliti\nAirspeed Press\n05-0060\n79 Old Denny Hill Rd\nWarner NH 03278\nHattie Mitchell\nUS Dept of Transportation\nResearch\nand Special Programs Adminstration\n400 7th St. SW\nWashington, DC, 20590\nMarch 9, 2005\nWe are publishers of several books dealing with technical issues in diving.\nWe get a lot of questions from readers, many of regarding scuba tanks, the\nsame ones over and over, and thought we ought to check with you to be\nsure we are giving them the correct answers.\nOur understanding is that the DOT regulations for 3AA, 3AL and other\nscuba tanks are legally applicable only to tanks used commercially, or as\nthe CFRs put it, \"entered in commerce\"\n', and that it is therefor neither\nagainst the law for a private owner to fill tanks which do not have a\ncurrent hydro inspection or fill them higher than their rated service\npressure, or, for that matter, for a scuba shop to the same, to privately\nowned tanks.\nThat's not to say it's a good idea, just that it is not illegal.\nWe run into a lot of confusion over what is meant by \"entered into\ncommerce\", with some claiming that if the tank touches a commercial\noperation at any point it has been entered into commerce. Would you be\nable to clarify what it actually means?\nSpecifically, would a tank be \"entered in commerce\" if:\n1) A diver transports it to and from a dive shop for a fill?\n2) A dive shop fills and rents a tank belonging to the shop to a customer,\nwho then transports it off the premises?\n3) A dive shop fills a tank owned by the shop then ships it to a customer\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nvia a public carrier like UPS?\n4) A diver takes his privately owned tank, puts it in his car, and\ntransports it on a public road?\n5) A diver takes his privately owned tank, puts it in his car, and tranports\nit on a federal highway?\n6) A diver takes a privately owned tank and takes it with him on a\ncommercial bus or boat licensed to carry passengers?\n7) A diver takes his privately owned tank of a divel boat which is licensed\nto carry passengers and while on it has it filled by the dive boat people\n(so they are both filling and transporting the tank, though it is not their\ntank) ?\nIn examples 4-6, does it make a difference if the tank is full or empty?\nMany thanks,\ntell\nSteven Lindblom\n-","truncated":false,"body_characters":7326}