{"operation":"document","citation":"08-0277","title":"Mr. Lawrence W. Bierlein — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2009-01-08","effective_on":null,"summary":"08-0277 concerning 173.124.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-08-0277.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-08-0277.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-08-0277","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2008/080277.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nJAN 0 8 2009\nMr. Lawrence W. Bierlein\nAttorney at Law\nSuite 500\n1101 3oth Street, NW\nWashington, DC 20007\nRef. No. 08-0277\nDear Mr. Bierlein:\nThis responds to your letter of October 2 1, 2008, regarding classification of a new water\nreactive formulation used in a flameless ration heater (FRH) under the Hazardous Materials\nRegulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). According to your letter, the FRH is a\ncomponent of a Unitized Group Ration Express (UGR-E) used by military services to heat\nfoodstuffs when activated by contact with water. You offer verification that your client tested\nthe reformulated heating mixture in accordance with the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria, as\nrequired by 5 173.124(c), and test results indicate the reformulated mixture does not produce\nflammable or toxic gas at a rate greater than one liter per kilogram, per hour, when in contact\nwith water.\nAs you note in your letter, it is the primary responsibility of a person who offers a product\ninto commerce to properly classify that material under the HMR. However, upon review of\nyour letter and the accompanying test report, it is the opinion of this Office that the\nreformulated mixture does not meet the definition of Division 4.3 material and, therefore, is\nnot subject to the HMR.\nI trust this adequately responds to your request. Please coiltact us if we can be of further\nassistance.\nS incerelv.\nHattie L. Mitchell\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nOctober 30,2008\nDr. Ted Willke\nAssociate Administrator for\nHazardous Materials Safety\nPipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nWashington, DC 20590\nAttn: Office of Standards (PHH-10)\nRe: Request for clarificiation of regulations;\nUGR-E classification\nDear Dr. Willke:\nA number of meals ready-to-eat (MRE) are authorized for transport by and for the Department of Defense. Many of these meals\ninclude a flameless ration heater consisting of a magnesium-iron alloy mixture containing sodium chloride. In the field, the deliberate\napplication of water to the magnesium mixture provides enough heat to make these field rations edible. For many years, a single field unit\nhas been recognized as not constituting a hazard in quantity and form sufficient to warrant regulation, but larger numbers of these units or\nlarger units have been shipped under Class 4.3. This is because the magnesium generates sufficient flammable gas when tested with\ndistilled water under the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria to meet the definition of Packing Group I or I1 in Class 4, Division 4.3. Several\nconfigurations of these products can serve multiple military personnel in the field. These larger packages commonly are called a Unitized\nGroup Ration-Express (UGR-E).\nMy client has been successful in reformulating the heating compound of a UGR-E heater such that, when tested under the UN\nManual, less than 1 liter of flammable gas is generated per hour, i.e., the gas generated is below the regulated range for a 4.3 material. A\ncopy of those test results is attached.\nWhile we understand that under Sec. 173.22, it is the shipper's obligation to properly classify a material, the Defense Department\npurchasers of such products would appreciate PHMSA concurrence in our conclusion that the reformulated product does not meet the\ndefinition of a 4.3 material. Nothing else in the package meets the definition of any other hazard classification. Although the modified\nheater no longer would be regulated, under military specifications the UGR-E would continue to be packaged to exceed ASTM\ntransportation performance-oriented packaging tests.\nWe request your confirmation that these UGR-E products may be shipped as unregulated under the Hazardous Materials\nRegulations. Please let me know if you have any questions on this request for clarification. Thank you.\nSincerely,\nLawrence W. Bierlein","truncated":false,"body_characters":4071}