United States Regulatory Commission — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1J.S. Departmen f Transportatior 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590 Pipeline cind Hazardous Materials Safety APR 14 2005 Administration Mr. David Pstrak Ref. No. 05-0082 Nuclear Material Safety and Safeguards Spent Fuel Project Office - 13D13 United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission Washington, D.C. 20555-0001 Dear Mr. Pstrak: This responds to your letter of April 7, 2005, requesting clarification as to whether a shipper that has drilled holes in a "Type A package" must perform an analysis on the package to confirm that no contents would be released. The answer is yes. It is the opinion of this office that if holes are drilled in a package that was previously demonstrated to satisfy the "Type A package" performance requirements, the package would no longer be identical to the previously designed and tested package Therefore, a "Type A package" that has holes drilled in it, may not continue to be designated as a "Type A package" until it has been completely evaluated against the specifications specified in §' 178.350. That evaluation may be conducted using any of the methods described in § 173.461(a), or a combination of them, and documented in accordance with § 173.415(a). I trust this satis les your inquiry. If we can be of further assistance, please contact us. Sincerely, Cass Dong Susan Gorsky Acting Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 050082 173.416#

Page 2Ferate, Fred <PHMSA> Lisinte set Sent From: Dave Pstrak [DWP1@nrc.gov] Betts Cc: To: 113.416 Subject: Fwd: Question of drilling holes in Type A containers packages 05-0082 Question of drilling holes in... Gentlemen, Here is and incoming email from Region IV concerning drilling of holes in Type A packages. I'd like to get DOT's thoughts on this. vould be released? It seems reasonable to say that the contents of a gauge would not fit through a hole that is plugge ould a shipper who has put holes in a Type A container perform an analysis on the container to confirm that no content with a bolt. I don't wart to promote putting holes in Type A packages, but if one can prove that the integrity is maintained, Please let me know your thoughts. Thanks! David#

Page 3Ferate, Fred <PHMSA> From: Sent: James Thompson jit3@nrc.gov] Cc: To: Dave Pstrak Thursday, March 10, 2005 4:23 PM Subject: Jeffrey Cruz Question of drilling holes in Type A containers Mr. Pstrak, This is a followup email regarding our telephone conversation today about the above subject. Apparently, in an effort to comply with the new security requirements for portable gauges, some licensees are bolting the securing the Type A container to a metal box via bolts. The question arose during inspection debriefs as to whether DOT portable gauge containers (Type A 7A) via holes drilled into the container, directly into the bed of a pickup truck, or Aould consider this drilling of holes and bolting of the Type A container as a compromise of the integrity of the DOT Type These bolts are only an inch or two long, just enough to hold the package firmly into place. The holes do not appear to be n the immediate vicinity of the gauge itself, merely on the outside perimeter of the container requirements of these portable gauges. The inspectors in the "ield greatly appreciate your assistance in answering these questions regarding the new security RIV/NMIB -James L. Thompson#