# Alaska Airlines, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** 07-0232
- **title:** Alaska Airlines, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation
- **source type:** guidance
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** guidance
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2008-03-17
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** 07-0232 response to Alaska Airlines, Inc. concerning 171.22, 172.202.
- **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-07-0232.json
- **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-07-0232.md
- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-07-0232
- **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2007/070232.pdf
**body:**

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U.S. Department
of Transportation
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety
Administration
MAR 1 7 2008
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
Mr. Michael Tobin, CHMM
Manager, Dangerous Goods
Alaska Airlines, Inc.
P. 0. Box 68900 SEADG
Seattle, WA 98168
Ref. No. 07-0232
Dear Mr. Tobin:
This responds to your December 17,2007 email requesting clarification of the shipping paper
requirements for consumer commodity (ORM-D) materials under the hazardous materials
regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 17 1 - 1 80) and the Internationals Civil Aviation
Organization (ICAO) Technical Instructions (TI). You note that under the ICAO TI, for a
material described as an "ID8000, consumer commodity, 9," the gross mass may be indicated
on the shipping paper using the average gross mass per package (for example, if there are 10
packages and the total gross mass of them is 100 kg, the dangerous goods transport document
may show this as "average gross mass per package IOkg"). You ask if the HMR permit the
use of average gross mass per package to indicate total quantity on shipping papers for
domestic transportation of consumer commodity, ORM-D materials by air.
The answer is no. For transportation by aircraft, the gross mass per package is required to be
indicated on the shipping paper for consumer commodity (ORM-D) materials
(§ 172.202(a)(6)). The use of average gross mass per package is not authorized by the HMR.
Note that fj 17 1.22 authorizes the use of the ICAO TI for transportation of hazardous
materials by aircraft. Therefore, average gross mass per package may be used to describe the
quantity of a material on a shipping paper when the material is described as "ID8000,
consumer commodity, 9" in accordance with the ICAO TI.
I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if you require additional assistance.
chief, Standards Development
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards

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Alaska Airlines-
Boothe
December 17, 2007
§172.202
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards
§ 173-306 (a)(3)(i)
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Attn: PHH-10
shipping Papers
U.S. Department of Transportation, East Building
1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.
07-0232
Washington, D.C. 20590-0001
Re: Description of consumer commodities on domestic air mode shipping papers
Please answer the following 2 questions regarding this example:
A 5 piece shipment of Consumer Commodity
box 1: 5 Ibs gross
box 2: 2 Ibs gross
box 3: 10 Ibs gross
box 4: 12 lbs gross
box 5: 7 Ibs gross
Today, a shipment prepared under 49CFR would show this:
Consumer Commodity, ORM-D. 5 boxes total 36 Ibs
Effective January 1, 2008 due to HM-2151, a shipper's document prepared under 49CFR
will look like this:
fibreboard box x 10 Ibs, I fibreboard box & 12 Ibs, I fibreboard box x 7 Ibs
Consumer Commodity, ORM-D. I fibreboard box y 5 Ibs. I fibreboard box & 2 Ibs. 1
document must be shown "for more than one package, either the gross mass of each
However, under ICAO Packing Instruction 910 at (I)(2), the gross mass on the transport
package or as the average mass of the packages. (For example, if there are 10
packages and the total gross mass of them is 100 kg, the dangerous goods transport
document may show this as "average gross mass per package 10 kg".)
Therefore, a shipment prepared under ICAO would show this:
ID 8000. Consumer Commodity, 9. 5 fibreboard boxes x average gross mass per package
7.2 Ibs
Question 1:
We do not see a prohibition in 49 CFR 171 Subpart C of use of ICAO's
description, so is the following description authorized effective January 1, 2008?
7.2 Ibs
Consumer Commodity. ORM-D. 5 fibreboard boxest average gross mass per package

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Question 2:
Would the use of ICAO's format only apply to ORM-D Consumer Commodity, and
not other forms, such as ORM-D Small Arms Ammunition?
Please answer the following question regarding this example:
Question 3:
Although the definitions of consumer commodity are closely aligned, 49CFR and
ICAO are not completely harmonized. 49CFRl73.306(a)(3)(i) permits aerosols up to 1 L
capacity. Whereas ICAO P I 910(h) only allows aerosols as consumer commodities when
the capacity is less than 120 ml for non-metal receptacles, 500 ml for flammable
aerosols in metal receptacles and 820 ml for non-flammable aerosols in metal
receptacles.
Example: An aerosol can of flammable lubricant that has a gross weight of 23 oz
and a net weight of 18 oz is acceptable as ORM-D Consumer Commodity. However, 23
oz = 680 rnl and therefore this item cannot be reclassified as Consumer Commodity
under ICAO. (note - even using the net weight of 18 oz, 532 ml still exceeds the 500 rnl
limit in ICAO.)
Can we therefore use the ICAO format of averages for consumer commodities that are
only acceptable as such under 49CFR?
Thank you for your prompt assistance.
Sincerely,
Michael G. Tobin, CHMM
Manager Dangerous Goods
Alaska Airlines, Inc.
P.O. Box 68900 S E A N
Seattle, WA 98168
(206) 392-9848
fax (206) 392-9862
email: mike.tobin@alaskaa~r.com
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