{"operation":"document","citation":"08-0158","title":"Toppenish Community Hospital — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2009-07-15","effective_on":null,"summary":"08-0158 response to Toppenish Community Hospital concerning 173.199.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-08-0158.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-08-0158.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-08-0158","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2008/080158.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nCarolyn Arms, MT(ASCP)\nDirector of Laboratory\nYakima Regional Medical & Cardiac Center\nToppenish Community Hospital\n3.10 South 9l\" Avenue\nYakiina, WA 98902\nReference No. 08-0158\nDear Ms. Arms:\nThis is in response to your e-mail requesting clarification of requirements in the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the transportation of\ninfectious substances. Specifically, you ask if a Petri dish containing a Category B infectious\nsubstance and covered with a lid that is not leak- or sift-proof meets the definition of a\nprimary receptacle (packaging) under § 173.199 of the HMR. You also ask if the packaging\nwould be considered leak- or sift-proof if it is placed inside another contaiiler that does meet\nthis requirement, such as a sealed polyethylene bag. We apologize for the delay in responding\nand any inconvenience this inay have caused.\nA Petri dish covered with a lid that is not leak- or sift-proof does not meet the definition of a\nprimary receptacle under § 173.199 of the HMR. The HMR require primary receptacles for\nCategory B infectious substances to be leak-proof for liquids and sift-proof for solids. Often\nthese types of closure can be achieved by securely attaching a lid to a packaging with wire,\ntape, or ally other positive means, such as a friction closure. See 5 173.199(b)(l) and (c)(l).\nAlternatively, to meet this requirement, a petri dish may be placed in a secoild container, such\nas a sealed polyethylene bag, that is leak-proof if the dish contains liquids and sift-proof if it\ncontains solids. In this case, the polyethylene bag is the primary receptacle for purposes of\nthe triple packaging requirelneilt in 5 173.199. It is the opinion of this Office that placing the\nPetri dish within the polyethylene bag in a maniler that secures the lid to the dish while the\npackaging is in transportation may facilitate the successful performance of this packaging.\nPrimary receptacles must be packed in a secondary packaging in a manner that ensures the\nprimary receptacles cannot break, be punctured, or leak their contents under normal\ntransportation conditions. The secoildary packaging must be secured in a rigid outer\npackaging with cushioning material that must not become impaired or impair the performance\nof the outer packaging if exposure to the packaging's conteiits occurs. Further, the con~pleted\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\npackage must be designed, constructed, maintained, filled, its contents limited, and each\ncontainer in the packaging closed so that under normal transportation conditions the\ncompleted package will not permit any release of hazardous material into the environment.\nSee 9 173.199(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(4).\nI hope this satisfies your request.\nHattie L. Mitchell\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nShipping of petri dishes\nDrakeford, Carolyn <PHMSA>\nFrom: Edmonson, Eileen <PHMSA>\nSent: Tuesday, June 03,2008 7:02 AM\nTo: Drakeford, Carolyn <PHMSA>\nCc: Mitchell, Hattie <PHMSA>; INFOCNTR <PHMSA>\nSubject: FW: Shipping of petri dishes\nFrom: Arms, Carolyn [mailto:Carolyn.Arms@yakima.hma-corp.com]\nSent: Friday, May 30, 2008 1:30 PM\nTo: INFOCNTR <PHMSA>\nCc: Gicca, Ron\nSubject: Shipping of petri dishes\nTo: US Dept of Transportation\nAlTN: Eileen Edmundson - DOT - (202) 366-8553\nMy name is Carolyn Arms and I am the Laboratory Director of a small rural hospital in Washington State. This\nemail is in response to a phone conversation between myself and Eileen Admundson of the DOT on Wednesday\nMay 28, 2008. 1 called Eileen for a clarification of the regulations regarding shipment of Category B infectious\nsubstances; specifically shipping inoculated culture media on petri dishes.\nOur laboratory currently plates microbiology cultures onto petri dishes and incubates the cultures until transport to\na larger hospital in our area. We have been placing the petri dishes into sealed bags, then placing the bags into a\nsecondary and tertiary container as directed in the regulations. The Washington State Department of Health\nreleased an article in their publication \"Elaborations\" in NovIDec 2007 stating that the petri dish must be\nconsidered as the \"primary\" container and is therefore unsuitable for shipment.\nAt our small hospital, if we cannot plate our cultures and incubate until transport, we will add up to 24 hours delay\nin diagnostic test results. This will significantly affect our patient care.\nWe are asking for a clarification in regard to what may be considered the primary container. Must we consider the\npetri dish as the \"primary container\" or is it acceptable to meet the intent of the regulation by placing the dishes\ninto another container that is leaklsift proof?\nThank you for your time and consideration.\nCarolyn Arms MT(ASCP)\nDirector of Laboratory\nYakima Regional Medical & Cardiac Center\nToppenish Community Hospital\n110 So. 9th Ave.\nYakima, WA 98902\n502 W. 4th Ave.\nToppenish, WA. 98948\n(509)575-5132 or (509)865-1512\nConfidentiality Notice: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended\nrecipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or\ndistribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and\ndestroy all copies of the original message.","truncated":false,"body_characters":5519}