Thunderbird Cylinder, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1of Transportatiol .S. Departmen 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590 Pipeline and Administration Hazardous Materials Safety JUN 1 2006 Mr. Fred A. Nachman President Ref. No. 05-0088 Thunderbird Cylinder, Inc. 4209 E. University Drive Phoenix, AZ 85034-7315 Dear Mr. Nachman: under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR This responds to your letter regarding offeror functions may perform certain offeror functions, such as generating Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask whether shipping papers, Your employees pick up cylinders from customers for on behalf of an owner/user of cylinders. requalification testing and generate shipping papers for transportation to and from your retesting facility. You There is nothing in the HMI that prohibits a carrier from However, the functions must be performed in accordance with the HMR. This would include functions such as the correct identification of hazardous materials packaged in cylinders and the proper description of the hazardous material on the shipping paper. hazardous material for transportation is required to See § 172.3 (b) . In addition, a person who offers a being certify on a shipping pape: that the hazardous material is offered in accordance with the HMR as specified in § 172.204 (a). I suggest that you contact the office of the Office of Hazardous Materials Special Permits and Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration's cylinders containing unknown contents. Approvals, at (202) 366-4535, concerning the transport of 172.200 050088 172-204(a)#

Page 2The HMR also provide exceptions from shipping papers and placarding for non-bulk packagings such as cylinders, which contain only the residue of a hazardous material covered by private or contract carrier. Table 2 of § 172.504, when collected and transported by a See § 173.29 (c) . I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, Hotte z. Miahel Hattie L. Mitchell Office Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention of Hazardous Materials Standards#

Page 3Stevens 3112. 200 Thunderbird Cylinder, loc. shipping papers 05-0088 April 13, 2005 Ms. Hattie Mitchell Department of Transportation 400 7' Street SW Rm#8422 DHM-12 Washington, D. C., 20590 Dear Ms. Mitchell, We request clarification of 49CFR Subpart C- Shipping Papers $172.200 Applicability. (a) Description of hazardous materials required. Except as otherwise provided in this subpart, each person who offers a hazardous material for transportation shall describe the hazardous material on the shipping paper in the manner required by this subpart. filler/owner for hydrotest, UE, etc., its driver has been filling out a Cylinder Hazardous When Thunderbird Cylinder, Inc., a requalifier, picks up a load of cylinders from a Material Manifest which is used for the transportation of that load. A similar manifest is used for the return delivery as well. prepare a separate manifest for each pickup. While Thunderbird takes possession of the If it makes multiple pickups or deliveries, its driver will cylinder. cylinders on the customer's property, it cannot be certain of what material is actually in the Thunderbird understands that a filler/owner's customer has been cited by DOT for not filling out the Manifest after relying on the filler/owner's driver to fill out the manifest. Question: Is "...each person who offers" the user/owner of the cylinders from the site provides the transportation and necessary manifesting for his customer? In other words, can where the pickup is made or the filler/owner who makes the pickup in his vehicle and customers to fill out their own individual manifests? Thunderbird continue using its manifests as filled out by its drivers or must it require its Respectfully, trash Fred A. Nachman President (DOT Clarification Shipping Papers 41305 doc) PHONE: 602.437.4600 • FAX: 602.437.5052 • EMAI: fredn@cylinder 4209 E. University Drive • Phoenix, AZ. • 85034-7315#