{"operation":"document","citation":"09-0006","title":"SJ Transportation Co., Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2009-01-27","effective_on":null,"summary":"09-0006 response to SJ Transportation Co., Inc. concerning 171.8, 172.202.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0006.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0006.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0006","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2009/090006.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Ave., SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nMr. Christopher P. Prioli\nSJ Transportation Co., Inc.\nP.O. Box 169\n1176 U.S. Route 40\nWoodstown, NJ 08098\nRef. No. 09-0006\nDear Mr. Prioli:\nThis responds to your December 18, 2008 letter and telephone discussions with a member of\nmy staff regarding the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR\nParts 171-180) to the transportation of used transformers, rectifiers, and insulating bushings\ncontaining PCB's. Specifically, you ask how these items should be described on the U.S.\nEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA) Form 8700-22, Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest\n(UHWM), in terms of type of container. In addition, you ask whether choosing TP (portable\ntank) on a UHWM would comply with the HMR shipping paper requirements for these items.\nThe EPA regulates the UHWM, and we cannot answer questions or make interpretations on\nhow best to complete the form. Your questions should be directed to the appropriate EPA\nOffice, including any petitions for changes to EPA regulations or forms.\nWith respect to whether the abbreviation \"TP\" on the UHWM satisfies the HMR shipping\npaper requirements for these PCB contaminated transformers, the answer is no. In accordance\nwith 5 172.202(a)(7), a shipping paper must include an indication of the number and type of\npackages being transported. The abbreviation \"TP\" which stands for \"portable tank,\" does\nnot accurately describe the stand-alone articles you are shipping. If the UHWM is being used\nto comply with the HMR shipping paper requirements concerning the number and type of\npackages, we suggest including further appropriate information (e.g., \"4 Transformers\") as\nneeded (see Special Provision 81; 3 172.102), in Item 14 - Special Handling Instructions &\nAdditional Information, in addition to any other information EPA requires in Item 14. As an\nalternative, you could create a separate shipping paper meeting all the requirements of Part\n172 Subpart C, and transport it along with the UHWM.\nI trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nHattie L. Mitchell\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nSJk4?bk\nTransportation Co., Inc.\nP.O. Box 169\n11 76 U.S. Route 40\nWoodstown. NJ 08098\n07 -0 0 06 (856)769-2741\n(800 524-2552\nFax (8561769-4248\nFax (856)769-98 1 1\n18 December 2008\nMr. Edward T. Mazzullo\nDirector, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards\nUS DOT I PHMSA (PHH-10)\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE East Building, 2\" Floor\nWashington, DC 20590\nRE: Container Type Designation on 8700-22 Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest\n- ,\nDear Mr. Mazzullo:\n<. '\nI am seeking guidance on the selection of appropriate container type designations for some\ngeneral types of used electrical equipment when such equipment is shipped on the Uniform\nHazardous Waste Manifest, USEPA Form 8700-22. The equipment being shipped includes\nused transformers, rectifiers, regulators, and insulating bushings. Many of these devices\ncontain (or contained) PCB oil in various concentrations. Please refer to the accompanying\nphotographs for representative examples of the equipment.\nWhereas I am aware that DOT takes a generally broad interpretation of shipping container\ndescriptions for shipping papers, the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest restricts the\nshipper to a limited selection of container type abbreviations. The available abbreviations,\nas listed below, are found in the Appendix to 40 CFR s262:\nBA - Burlap, cloth, paper or plastic bags CF - Fiber or plastic boxes, cartons, cases CM - Metal boxes, cartons, cases (including roll-offs) CW - Wooden boxes, cartons, cases CY - Cylinders DF - Fiberboard or plastic drums, barrels, kegs DM - Metal drums, barrels, kegs\nDT - Dump truck\nDW - Wooden drums, barrels, kegs\nHG - Hopper or gondola cars\nTC - Tank cars\nTP - Portable tanks\nl 7 - Cargo tanks (tank trucks)\nWith the above-listed abbreviations being the only approved entries permitted for Item 10\non the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest, I am faced with the need to obtain definitive\nguidance regarding the proper container type abbreviations to use for the equipment being\nshipped. In the past, some shippers have used the \"TP\" designation for transformers of\nEnvironmental Transportation and Logistics\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nvarious styles and sizes. My understanding is that this designation would not be correct for\nitems of the types involved here, based upon the 49 CFR 3171.8 definition of a portable\ntank. That definition states that a portable tank is a \"bulk packaging.. . designed primarily to\nbe loaded onto, or on, or temporarily attached to a transport vehicle.. . and equipped with\nskids, mountings or accessories to facilitate handling of the tank by mechanical means. \"\nMy contention is that most transformers and sirrrilar electrical equipment cannot meet this\ndefinition for the following reasons:\nthese devices will very rarely meet the 49 CFR 5171.8 defining criteria for bulk\npackagings in terms of liquid capacity;\nthese devices are not designed \"priniarily to be loaded onto, or on, or temporarily\nattached to a transport vehicle\"; and\nthese devices are not inherently tank-like in design or purpose.\nThere are basically two types of electrical devices about which I have concerns - pole-\nmount types and pad-mount types. Typically, pole-mount transformers (Figure 1 below)\nare generally cylindrical in overall shape, often having flat bottoms and slightly convex\nupper ends, usually with insulating bushings protruding from either the top surface or\nthrough the cylinder's side wall, and sometimes with cooling fins or panels attached to the\nouter circumference. The liquid capacity of these devices will vary by the size of the unit,\nbut will generally not meet the 119-gallon threshold for \"bulk designation. Based upon the\ngeneral shape of these units, the limited options provided by 40 CFR 5262, and the fairly\n\"open\" definition of \"drum\" found in 49 CFR 3171.8, 1 have concluded that \"DM\" would be\nthe most appropriate container type designator for these items when shipped on EPA Form\n8700-22.\nFigure I - Pole-mount Transformers\nEnvironmental Transportation and Logistics\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nPad-mount devices can have a physical shape similar to that of the pole-mount units\ndescribed above, or they can be generally box-like in shape and structure. Some of these\nunits will meet the 119-gallon \"bulk threshold, but many others will not. In either case, the\ndefining criteria for portable tanks are not met. These devices may be any one of several\ndifferent device types, but all are designed to be secured to a concrete pad or footing via\nfixtures on their bases. Figure 2 below shows a typical small pad-mount transformer while\nFigures 3 and 4 depict two different large pad-mount models. Figure 5 illustrates a rectifier\nunit and Figure 6 is that of a regulator unit. As the photographs show, none of these units\ncan rightly be classed as portable tanks.\nFigure 2 - Small Pad-mount Transformer\nFigure 3 - Large Pad-mount Transformer (CabinetJ\nEnvironmental Transportation and Logistics\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nFigure 4 - Large Pad-mount Transformer (Cylindrical)\nFigure 5 - Large Pad-mount Rectifier\nEnvironmental Transportation and Logistics\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\nFigure 6 - Large Pad-mount Regulator\nThe interior spaces of each of these devices is largely filled with coils of wire, core material,\nswitches and/or other components, with the relatively small remaining space being filled\nwith dielectric oil. In most cases, the only accessories present that would be considered as\nbeing intended to \"facilitate handling.. . by mechanical means\" would be the lifting hooks or\neyes that are often attached to the units. It sho~~ld be noted that engines for cars and\ntrucks are also equipped with lifting eyes or hooks, but they are no more considered\nportable tanks than these UI- its should be.\nI believe that the cylindrically-shaped pad-mount devices should be designated as \"DM\"\ncontainers, as that is the closest of the defined container types to the actual physical\nstructure of these devices. By the same reasoning, I believe that the remaining pad-mount\ndevices illustrated herein should be designated as \"CM\" containers.\nAnother type of used electrical equipment that we deal with is an\ninsulating device called a \"busliing\". These are generally large\nstand-off insulators such as those shown in Figure 7 at right.\nThese devices are naturally the most difficult to classify, as there is\nreally no appropriate container type defined in 40 CFR s262. As\nbefore, these devices will generally contain a limited volume of\ndielectric oil. Most bushings are ceramic or porcelain in\nconstruction and can be of various lengths and diameters, though\nthey will rarely if ever reach the 11 9-gallon \"bulk threshold as\ncontainers for liquids.\nFigure 7 - Insulating Bushings\nEnvironmental Transportation and Logistics\n\n<<<PAGE 7>>>\n\nIt is quite obvious that the insulating bushings cannot be even remotely construed as being\nportable tanks. It is much more difficult to select an appropriate container type designation\nfor these devices, however. 'Their design and construction preclude inclusion in any of the\ncontainer types defined in 40 CFR 3262.\nOne other point to consider is that Special Provision 81 (49 CFR §171.102) specifically\nprovides for the shipment of certain PCB articles, when the use of a specification container\nis impractical, in non-specification packages or through the use of the article itself as the\npackage. This is the justification for shipping these devices without any specific kind of\ninclusive packaging.\nTo summarize, I am specifically seeking formal written guidance regarding the proper and\ncorrect container type abbreviations for use on the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest\n(Form 8700-22) as regards the various device types discussed herein and as listed below:\n1. Transformers and other similar PCB devices having a generally cylindrical overall\nshape;\n2. Transformers and other similar PCB devices having a generally box-like overall\nshape; and\n3. Insulating bushings constructed of ceramic or porcelain materials.\nDespite my best efforts, I was unable to obtain conclusive guidance on this issue from the\nUSEPA. In fact, I was instructed to direct this issue to your office for an answer, as much\nof the answer would likely be based I.lpon USDOT definitions and interpretations.\nI look forward to hearing from you in the near future, and I hope that you will be able to\nprovide the guidance that I need.\nSincerely,\nChristopher P. Prioli\nSafety & Compliance Manager\nEnvironmental Transportation and Logistics","truncated":false,"body_characters":10769}