{"operation":"document","citation":"05-0256","title":"WRR Environmental Service Company, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2005-12-06","effective_on":null,"summary":"05-0256 response to WRR Environmental Service Company, Inc. concerning 173.28, 178.604.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0256.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0256.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-05-0256","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2005/050256.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nof Transportation\nU.S. Department\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nPipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration\nDEC\n6 2005\nMr. Steven P. Stokke\nRef. No. 05-0256\nVice President\nOperations Support\n5200 State Road 93\nWRR Environmental Service Company, Inc.\nEau Claire, Wisconsin 54701\nDear Mr. Stokke:\nThis is in response to your September 2, 2005 letter and subsequent telephone\nprovisions for steel drums in § 173.28 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR\nconversation with Mr. Cameron Satterthwaite of my staff regarding the packaging reus\n49 CFR Parts 171-180). You state that the steel UN1A1 drums are made of other than\nstainless steel. Your questions are paraphrased and answered as follows:\nQ1. A UN1A1 drum containing residue is returned to our company from a distributor for\nrefilling. May we refill the drum with the same product and return it to the distributor\nwithout performing a leakproofness test?\nAl. No. A steel drum may not be reused without leakproofness testing, as specified in\n§ 173.28(b) (2). The provisions of § 173.28(b)(7)(iv) apply to stainless steel drums.\nQ2. If a drum meets the general reuse inspection requirements in § 173.28, what level of\ntesting is required?\nA2. A drum, subject to leakproofness testing, must be tested to the criteria specified in\n§ 178.604.\nI hope this information is helpful.\nSincerely,\n→ nithilt\nHattie L. Mitchell\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\n173.28\n178.604\n050256\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nSatterthwante\n$113.28\n$118.604\nSeptember 2, 2005\nReuse\nMr. Duane Cassidy\nPipeline And Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nUnited States Department of Transportation\n05-0258\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nDear Mr. Cassidy;\nThis memorandum is in response to a previous telephone conversation at which time you had\nrequested a detailed description of the request for guidance regarding the reuse of 55-gallon steel\ndrums, specifically, 1A1/1Y1.8/300 drum specification. The drums in question, formerly\ncontained WRR Environmental Services Company, Inc., (WRR) products such as Lacquer\nThinner and Acetone. W & S Supplies is a recognized distributor of liquid chemical products,\nwhich are procured from WRR. In addition, these procured materials are utilized by various\ncustomers and clients of W & S Supplies for parts cleaning and degreasing and are recognized as\nhazardous materials. Once used by the customers for their intended purpose, these solvents are\ncollected in 55-gallon drums and transported to WRR for reclamation.\nW & S Supplies has requested that the drums used to transport the various solvents purchased\nfrom WRR be reused and refilled with compatible material for transport and reuse by W & S\nSupplies. For the purposes of this discussion, it is important to recognize the type of container\nused as defined by the United States Department of Transportation (DOT).\n\"Non-bulk packaging means a packaging which has:\n(1) A maximum capacity of 450 L (119 gallons) or less as a receptacle for a liquid;\n(2) A maximum net mass of 400 kg (882 pounds) or less and a maximum capacity of 450 L (119\ngallons) or less as a receptacle for a solid; or\n(3) A water capacity of 454 kg (1000 pounds) or less as a receptacle for a gas as defined in §\n173.115 of this subchapter.\"\nResearch and discussions with United States DOT personnel have revealed that there are\nprovisions within 49 Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR) which allow for the reuse of 55\ngallon product drums provided the following provisions are adhered to;\nSec. 173.28 Reuse, reconditioning and remanufacture of packagings.\n(a) General. Packagings and receptacles used more than once must be\nin such condition, including closure devices and cushioning materials,\nthat they conform in all respects to the prescribed requirements of this\nsubchapter. Before reuse, each packaging must be inspected and may not\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nbe reused unless free from incompatible residue, rupture, or other\ndamage which reduces its structural integrity.\n(b) Reuse of non-bulk packaging. A non-bulk packaging used more than\nonce must conform to the following provisions and limitations:\n(1) A non-bulk packaging which, upon inspection, shows evidence of a\nreduction in integrity may not be reused unless it is reconditioned in\naccordance with paragraph (c) of this section.\n(2) Before reuse, packagings subject to the leakproofness test with\nair prescribed in Sec. 178.604 of this subchapter shall be--\n(i) Retested without failure in accordance with Sec. 178.604 of\nthis subchapter using an internal air pressure (gauge) of at least 48\nkPa (7.0 psig) for Packing Group I and 20 kPa (3.0 psig) for Packing\nGroup II and Packing Group III; and\n(ii) Marked with the letter \"L\", with the name and address or\nyear the test was conducted. Symbols, if used, must be registered with\nsymbol of the person conducting the test, and the last two digits of the\nthe Associate Administrator.\n(7) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (b) (2) of this\nsection, a packaging otherwise authorized for reuse may be reused\nwithout being leakproofness tested with air provided the packaging--\n(i) Is refilled with a material which is compatible with the\nprevious lading:\n(ii) Is refilled and offered for transportation by the original\nfiller;\n(iii) Is transported in a transport vehicle or freight container\nunder the exclusive use of the refiller of the packaging; and\n(iv) Is constructed of--\n(A) Stainless steel, monel or nickel with a thickness not less than\none and one-half times the minimum thickness prescribed in paragraph\n(b) (4) of this section;\n(B) Plastic, provided the packaging is not refilled for reuse on a\npackaging in accordance with Sec. 178.503(a) (6) of this subchapter; oi\nlate more than five years from the date of manufacture marked on the\n(C) Another material or thickness when approved under the conditions\nestablished by the Associate Administrator for reuse without retesting.\nThe clarification need arises which respect to the leakproof testing. If a drum is emptied by W\n& S Supplies or any other customer for that matter, and if the empty drum is transported back to\nWRR and refilled with the same product, would this drum need to be tested? This is assuring\nthat W & S would be transporting the same drum, in affect, a closed loop scenario, wherein the\ndrum is retained and under the control of W & S Supplies at all times with the exception being\nwhen WRR is refilling the container. This also assumes that before reuse, each packaging must\nbe inspected and may not be reused unless free from incompatible residue, rupture, or other\ndamage, which reduces its structural integrity.\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nIn summation, can a drum under the aforementioned circumstances, be reused without retesting\nand reconditioning. In addition, should the drum need to be retested, even though it passes\nmail at stokkesp@wrres.com.\nRespectfully Yours,\nSTEVEN P. STOKKE\nVice President - Operations Support\nWRR Environmental Services Company, Inc.\n5200 State Road 93\nEau Claire, Wisconsin 54701","truncated":false,"body_characters":7091}