Fed Ex Freight — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Ms. Sandra Richesin Ref. No. 08-00 15 Fed Ex Freight P.O. Box 840 Harrison, AR 72602-0840 Dear Ms. Richesin: This is in response to your letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 1 7 1 - 180) pertaining to the shipper's certification statement on shipping papers. You ask two questions pertaining to the signature that is required for the statement. The questions are paraphrased and answered below. Q1. A shipping paper includes a shipper's certification stathent as required by 172.204. If the shipping paper has one designated place for a signature, is any location on the shipping paper acceptable for the signature that is required for the statement? Al. Location of the signature anywhere on the same page as the certification statement constitutes signing of the statement, provided the signature is not specifically assigned to a statement not required by the HMR. 42. A shipping paper includes two designated places for signatures. One is specific to the shipper's certification statement and the other is located elsewhere on the shipping paper. The former is not signed; the latter is signed. Does this meet the requirements under the HMR for the shipper's certification signature? A2. You did not submit an example of the shipping paper in question. Because the certification statement in this case includes a signature line specifically assigned to the certification statement, leaving it unsigned may be confusing and may cause frustration of#

Page 2the shipment of hazardous materials. Although the HMR does not specify a location of the signature on a shipping paper, reasonable care should be taken to format a shipping paper that does not cause confusion. I hope this information is helphl. If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely, Hattie L. Mitchell, Chief Regulatory Review and Reinvention OEce of Hazardous Materials Standards#

Page 3PO. Box &90 Harrison. AR 72602-0840 2200 Forward Orive Halfison. AN 72601 Telephone 1.870.741.9000 Toll.Free 1.800.874.4723 Fax 1.810.741.3003 Freight December 26,2007 Mt. John A. Gale Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards U.S. DOT - PHMSA 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. Washington, DC 20590 Dear Chief Gale, This letter is a written request for interpretation of signature requirements for the shipper's certification on the shipping paper as stated in 49CFR $172.204(d). I have two questions, please. (1) If the shipping paper has one shipper signature area with a signature and the shipper certification statement is printed on the shipping paper, does that meet the requirement since there is no location requirement for the signature? (2) If the shipping paper has a specific signature area with the shipper certification, and it is not signed, yet there is another shipper signature area on the shipping paper and it is signed, does that meet the requirement? I appreciate your time in reviewing these questions and look forward to receiving your response. Sincerely, Sandra Richesin, DER Safety Compliance Administrator#