# Commonwealth of Virginia — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** 05-0108
- **title:** Commonwealth of Virginia — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation
- **source type:** guidance
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** guidance
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2005-06-13
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** 05-0108 response to Commonwealth of Virginia concerning 172.504.
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- **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0108.md
- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0108
- **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2005/050108.pdf
**body:**

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U.S. Department
400 Severth Street, S.W.
of Transportation
Washingion, D.C. 20590
Hazardous Materials Safety
pipeline and
JUN 1 3 2003
Administration
Sergeant David Feather
Ref. No. 05-0108
Safety Division, Motor Carrier Safety
Commonwealth of Virginia
Department of State Police
P.O. Box 10900
Fairfax Station, VA 22039-0900
Dear Sergeant Feather:
This is in response to your April 25, 2005, letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous
same placard must be displayed on each side and each end of a transport vehicle. You.
Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask whether the
describe a situation in which a vehicle transports 600 Ibs of a Division 2.1 (flammable
The vehicle is placarded on two sides with a DANGEROUS placard and on the two ends
gas), 600 Ibs of a Division 2.2 (non-flammable compressed gas) and 600 Ibs of oxygen.
with a Division 2.1 placard.
A freight container, unit load device, transport vehicle, or rail car which contains non-
bulk packages with two or more categories of hazardous materials that require different
placards specified in table 2 of § 172.504(e) may be placarded with a DANGEROUS
placard instead of the separate placarding specified for each of the materials in table 2.
Each side and each end of a freight container, unit load device, transport vehicle or rail
car must have identical placards in design and quantity. Thus, for the situation you
describe, a carrier may not satisfy the placarding requirements by affixing a
DANGEROUS placard on each side and affixing a Division 2.1 placard on each end of a .
transport vehicle.
I hope this satisfies your request.
Sincerely,
Chief, Standards Development
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards
172.504
050108

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BAIt
GIN
172.504.
Placarding
05 - 0108
Colonel W. Steven Flaherty
Superintendent
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA
(804) 674-2000
DEPARTMENT OF STATE POLICE
Fairfax Station, Virginia 22039-0900
P. O. Box 10900
April 25, 2005
Mr. John A. Gale
Chief, Standards Development
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Office of Hazardous Material Standards
400 Seventh Street, S.W.
Safety Administration
Washington, D.C. 20590
Dear Mr. Gale:
enforcement community corcering this matter.
I am respectfully requesting an interpretation concerning placarding. A question has been raised in the
The situation involves the use of the "Dangerous" placard.
If a vehicle were transporting the combination of the following Table 2 materials:
600 pounds of a 2.1 Material
600 pounds of a 2.2 Material
600 pounds of Oxygen
Would the use of a 2.1 placard displayed on the front and rear of a transport vehicle and a dangerous
172.504(D)(3)?
placard displayed on two sides of the same transport vehicle be in compliance with 172.504(a) & (b) and
$172.504 General placarding requirements, reads as follows:
load device, transport vehicle or rail car containing any quantity of a hazardous material must be
(a) General. Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, each bulk packaging, freight container, unit
and in accordance with other placarding requirements of this subpart, including the specifications for the
placarded on each side and each end with the type of placards specified in Table 1 ard 2 of this section
placards named in the tables and described in detail in §172.519 through §172.558.
(b) DANGEROUS placard. A. freight container, unit load device, transport vehicle, or rail car which
placards specified in Table 2 of paragraph (e) of this section may be placarded with a DANGEROUS
contains non-bulk packages with two or more categories of hazardous materials that require different
placard instead of the separate placarding specified for each of the materials in Table 2 of paragraph (e)
of material is loaded therein at one loading facility on a freight container, unit load device, transport
of this section. However, when 1,000 kg (2,205 pounds) aggregate gross weight or more of ore category
be applied.
vehicle, or rail car, the placard specified in Table 2 of paragraph (e) of this section for that category must

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Page 2
flammable gas if the transport vehicle also contains flammable gas or oxygen and it is placarded with
(f) (3) A NON-FLAMMABLE GAS placard is not required on a transport vehicle which contains non-
FLAMMABLE GAS or OXYGEN placards, as required.
and each end, whether it would be a 2.1 Flammable Gas, or Dangerous. In reading the regulations,
The regulations do not clearly state that the transport vehicle must display the same placard on each side
placard for the Table 1 or the Table 2 material; while section 172.504(b) permits the use of the use of the
some believe that either placard would be in compliance. Section 172.504(a) requires the specified
However, neither section requires that the same placard be displayed on each side and each end.
Dangerous placard instead of the specified placarding for each of the materials specified in Table 2.
You assistance in this matter would be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Dawdl Peak
David Feather, Sergeant
Division, Motor Carrier Safety
Virginia Department of State Police Safety
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