Baker Hughes — 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 Mr. Aubrey R. Campbell Baker Hughes 12645 West Airport Boulevard Sugar Land, Texas 77478 Ref. No.: 09-0 168 Dear Mr. Campbell: This responds to your July 15, 2009 letter regarding the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to the highway shipment of non-bulk drums containing only the residue of a hazardous material. You ask whether your shipment is eligible for the exceptions provided in (i 173.29(c) and 4 172.504(d). The answer is yes. Generally, packagings containing a residue of a hazardous material must be transported in the same manner as when they previously held a greater quantity of the material. However, in accordance with 5 173.29(c), a non-bulk packaging containing only the residue of a hazardous material covered by Table 2 of 5 172.504 is excepted from shipping paper and placarding requirements when collected and transported by a contract or private carrier for reconditioning, remanufacture, or reuse. Furthermore, in accordance with &j 172.504(d), except for hazardous materials subject to 5 172.505, a non-bulk packaging that contains oilly the residue of a hazardous material covered by Table 2 of 9 172.504 need not be included in determining placarding requirements. Provided your shipments meet these requirements, then you are eligible to utilize the exceptions provided in 4 173.29(c) and 9 172.504(d). I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Hattie L. Mitchell Chief, Regulatory Review and Reiaventioll Office of Hazardous Materials Standards#

Page 2Baker Petrolite fl /eke 3172 56qcd) 5 1 7 3 2 4 BAKER r!&ail Tkmardinq E~dq HUGHES %&<yes1 il 12645 West Airport ~ l v d . Sugar Land, Texas 77478 P.O. Box 5050 0 9 0 ) 8 Sugar Land. Texas 77487-5050 Tel28 1-276-5400 Fax 281-275-7385 www.bakerhughes.com July 15,2009 Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, (PHMSA) Attn: PHH- 10 U.S. Department of Transportation East Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590-000 1 Re: Letter of Interpretation Dear Office of Hazardous Materials Standards: Baker Petrolite Corporation (BPC) requests a letter of interpretation regarding the provisions specified in Title 49 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) Part 172.504(d) , Exception for empty non-bulk packages and 173.29, Empty packages. On of our drivers was cited by a law enforcement officer for not having placards affixed to the transport vehicle when carrying the residue of flammable liquids and corrosive materials in 16 non-bulk 55 gallon drums (please see attached shipping paper). The drums were loaded on a flatbed trailer and clearly visible to the officer. BPC challenged this citation by filing a DATAQ report on FMCSA website (please see attached challenge and response). We asked the law enforcement agency for clarity of 173.29 and 172.504(d). We do not agree with the response and request PHMSA clarify the meaning of 173.29 and 172.504(d). As stated in our complaint, the drums were empty but not cleaned and purged, which meant we were required to properly describe, mark, and label the non-bulk packages according to the HMR. If these drums were full, we understand the requirement to affix placards to the transport vehicle because the aggregate gross weight of the 16 drum would have exceeded the 100 1 pound exception. All of the drums contained residue only and the entire shipment weighed less that 300 pounds. We understand that empty non-bulk packages that contain the residue of a hazardous material covered by Table 2 need not be included in determining placarding requirements according to 172.504(d). According to the officer, we should have placarded the shipment because of the way 173.29 reads in that residue of hazardous materials must be offered in the same manner as when it previous contained a greater quantity of the hazardous material.#

Page 3The officer understood this to mean that (16) 55 gallon drums (880 gallons) previously contained an aggregate gross weight of 880 x 7 = 6160 pounds, which meant the shipment should have had placards affixed to the transport vehicle. Please provide clear guidance on 173.29 and 172.504(d) so we can comply with Federal, state, and local laws accordingly. Sincerely, Baker Petrolite Corporation Aubrey R! Campbell 1 Senior Transportation Specialist#