{"operation":"document","citation":"09-0204","title":"Applied Cleaning Technologies, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2009-10-13","effective_on":null,"summary":"09-0204 response to Applied Cleaning Technologies, Inc. concerning 171.8, 173.154, 173.156.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0204.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0204.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-09-0204","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2009/090204.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Ave., SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nOCT 1 3 2009\nMr. Paul A. Ackermann\nApplied Cleaning Technologies, Inc.\n900 Oak Pointe Lane\nNorthville, NII 48 167\nRef. No. 09-0204\nDear Mr. Ackermann:\nThis responds to your August 18,2009 letter and telephone discussion with a member of my\nstaff requesting clarification of the applicability of the Hazardcius Materials Regulations\n(HMR; 49 CFR Parts 1 7 1 - 180) to the transportation of Class 8 (corrosive) materials.\nSpecifically, you ask whether the cleaning products your company ships may be transported\nas limited quantities in accordance with $ 173.154. In addition, you ask whether the cleaning\nproducts also qualify for transport as consumer commodities.\nAccording to your letter, your company currently transports sodium hydroxide solution (30%\nW/W) and potassium hydroxide solution (30% wlw) in bottles packaged in UN certified\ncartons. Each bottle has a capacity of 40 fl. 02.; with 12 bottles to a carton. The material\nsafety data sheets (MSDS) for your cleaning products include toxicological data that you\nbelieve may require the products to be classed and transported as Division 6.1 material.\nWith regard to the proper classification of your products, the data presented in the MSDS for\nthe sodium hydroxide solution is inconclusive because the results are from testing methods\nnot authorized for use in classifLing a material as Division 6.1 (poisonous) material under the\nHNlR (see $ 173.132). Moreover, there is nothing in the transport history for sodium\nhydroxide solutions (nor for potassium hydroxide solutions) to suggest that these materials\nshould be assigned a Division 6.1 subsidiary hazard. Therefore, it is the opinion of this\nOffice that your sodium hydroxide solution should be classed as a Class 8 (corrosive)\nmaterial.\nAs currently packaged, your cleaning products are not eligible for the limited quantity\nexceptions provided in $ 173.154 because the material is packaged in 40 fl. oz. (1.2 L)\nbottles. The limited quantity exceptions require liquid corrosive materials in Packing Group\n(PG) I1 to be packaged in combination packagings with inner packagings not exceeding 1.0 L\n(0.3 gallon). In addition, in accordance with the conditions of $ 173.154, the 12-pack carton\nmust conform to the general packaging provisions of Part 173, Subpart B and may not exceed\n30 kg (66 pounds) gross weight.\nAs defined in $ 171.8, a consumer commodity is a material that is packaged and distributed\nin a form intended or suitable for sale through retail sales agencies for personal or household\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nuse. Based on the information regarding the end use of your cleaning products provided in\nyour letter, your products meet the definition of consumer commodity. Thus, provided all\napplicable conditions of 5 173.154 are met including the quantity limitations for corrosive\nmaterial in PG I1 in paragraph (b), they may be renamed \"Consumer commodity\" and\nreclassed and transported as ORM-D materials; shipments of ORM-D materials are eligible\nfor additional exceptions provided in 4 173.156.\nI hope this information.is helpful. If you have further questions, please contact this office.\nSincerely,\nharles E. Betts\nDevelopment\nMaterials Standards\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nApplied Cleaning Technologies, Inc.\nCleaning Solutions for the Beverage and Food Industries\nAugust 18,2009\nher L m d e r e n\nTo: Mr. Edward T. Mazzullo\nDirector, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration U.S. De~artment of Trans~ortation $173 .jsb\n5 173 154\n5 113613.2\n3 (7.3 * 4\nFrom: Paul A. Ackermann, Vice President\nApplied Cleaning Technologies, Inc., (ACT, Inc.) De~;n;fion~&~~v\n9600 Oak Pointe Lane A f - ~ ~ a s r 8\nNorthville, MI 48 167 0 9 - 0 2 0 L (\nSubject: Letter of Clarification Request for Shipping Class 8, Packing Group I1 (corrosive)\nchemicals under guidelines of 49 CFR 173.136,49 CFR 173.154,49 CFR 173.132,\n49 CFR 173.4, OECD Guideline For Testing of Chemicals Adopted 17' July 1992\n(Attached, are copies of the 49 CFR Parts listed above)\nDear Mr. Mazzullo,\nApplied Cleaning Technologies, Inc. is a manufacturer and seller of Class 8, Packing Group I1\n(corrosive) chemicals. The types of chemicals sold and shipped are liquid sodium hydroxide\nandlor liquid potassium hydroxide compounds with in the bottle strengths of 30 % w/w as\nsodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. The chemicals are used to clean draught beer lines in\ntaverns and restaurants in America. ACT, Inc. sells the draught line cleaning chemicals through\ndistributors and ships directly from our co-packer to the distributor or the distributor's customers.\nThe individual bottle size is 40 fl.ozs. The chemicals are shipped in 12-pack (UN-Certified)\ncartons with 50 cartons to a pallet. Each pallet weighs 2,250 pounds. ACT, Inc. pays a hazardous\nmaterial shipping charge for all pallet shipments and individual 12-pack carton shipments.\nACT, Inc. competitors are selling similar liquid products, sodium hydroxide or potassium\nhydroxide with in the bottle chemical strengths the same as the ACT, Inc. products (30 % w/w).\nThe competitors are packaging their products in 32 fl.02. bottles.\nTheir chemicals are shipped in 12- pack cartons and their cartons are not UN-Certified cartons.\nThey ship pallet shipments in the 2,000 pound range as well as individual 12-pack cartons\nwithout paying a hazardous material shipping charge.\nSome competitors also ship their chemicals in 15,20 and 55 gallon HDPE plastic drums without\npaying a hazardous material shipping charge.\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nOur competitors claim the reason they can ship their Class 8, Packing Group I1 (corrosive)\nchemicals without paying a hazardous material shipping charge is because the products they\nship is qualified under 49 CFR 173.1 54, \"Limited Quantity\" Exceptions for Class 8 Packing\nGroup I1 (corrosive materials) simply because they package and ship their products in 32 fl.oz.\nbottles.\nACT, Inc. interprets 49 CFR 173.1 54 differently. On page 526 of the 49 CFR regulations it\nstates under 173.154 (b) Limited quantities of corrosive materials (1) For corrosive materials\nin Packing Group 11, inner packagings not over 1.0 L (33.8 fl.ozs) net capacity each for liquids,\nunless the material has a subsidiary hazard of Division 6.1, Packing Group I1 in which case the\ninner packagings may not exceed 100 ml(3.38 ounces) for liquids.\nDOT, CFR 173.132 Class 6, Division 6.1 - Definitions. states:\n(a) For the purpose of this subchapter, poisonous material (Division 6.1) means a material, other\nthan gas, which is known to be so toxic to humans as to afford a hazard to health during\ntransportation, or which, in the absence of adequate data on human toxicity:\n(1) Is presumed to be toxic to humans because it falls within any one of the following categories\nwhen tested on animals (whenever possible, animal test data that has been reported in the\nchemical literature should be used):\n(i) Oral Toxicity\n(ii) Dermal Toxicity\n30 % w/w liquid sodium hydroxide or potassium clearly falls in the above categories listed under\nClass 6, Division 6.1-Definitions (I), (i) and (ii).\nWe all know that liquid sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide (30 % w/w) and at much\nlesser strengths are extremely Dermal Toxic and Oral Toxic in animal testing. Government\ncertified lab tests done on rabbits and other animals have shown this. ACT, Inc. shows the\nanimal (rabbit and monkey) test data on its MSDS Sheets. Our competitors do not show\ntoxicological information (animal tests) on their MSDS Sheets. The people who prepared our\nproduct MSDS Sheets must have used Government Certified Lab Data to determine the oral and\ndermal toxicity of our products based on the corrosiveness of liquid sodium and potassium\nhydroxide fiom previous animal testing. It is less expensive to use previous animal test data than\nhaving a certified lab re-test using government procedures for tests on animals as stated in\nOECD Guideline For Testing of Chemicals. So, how can our competitors ship their products\nwithout paying a hazardous material shipping charge? Their products would not pass the animal\ntests either. Some competitors are also marking their MSDS Sheets and product shipping cartons\nwith ORM-D Consumer Commodity. How are they able to do this?\nUnder 49 CFR 173.154 (b) Limited Quantities, it is not clear what a limited quantity is. Is it one\n12-pack case of 32 fl.oz. bottles?, two cases ?, one hundred cases ?, 2,000 lbs? etc ... on the same\ntruck shipment?\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nRecently I have twice called the Department of Transportation, Exemptions and Approvals Dept.\nBoth people I talked with at different times said that for our products to take advantage of\n173.154 Exceptions for Class 8 (corrosive, materials) our products must first pass the rabbit eye\nand skin toxicity tests.\nRecently I called USDOT/PHMSA and talked with Eileen Edmonson. We had several phone\nconversations over a number of days. Eileen was very helpful. I explained to her the types of\nproducts ACT, Inc. makes and sells as well as those of our competitors. I also asked Eileen the\nsame questions I asked above. Eileen performed a search in the DOT archives to see if ever there\nwas a DOT letter of clarification written regarding shipping liquid sodium or potassium\nhydroxide in 32 fl.oz. bottles and being able to qualify for exception under 49 CFR 173.154\nExceptions for Class 8 (corrosive, materials). Eileen e-mailed me that she did not find in the\nDOT archives any requests for letters of clarification regarding the above from any companies or\nindividuals.\nGiven the above information, Applied Cleaning Technologies, Inc. is requesting the DOT for a\nletter of clarification regarding shipping its products in 32 fl.oz. bottles packaged in 12-pack\ncartons to qualify for taking advantage of 173.154 \"Limited Quantity\" so that ACT, Inc., like\nour competitors, would not have to pay a hazardous material shipping charge for its products and\nalso if our products would qualify as a \"Consumer Commodity\" ORM-D.\nWith Best Regards,\nApplied Cleaning Technologies, Inc.\n9600 Oak Pointe Lane\nNorthville, MI 48 167\nFax: 248-437-4436\nPhone: 248-437-0898","truncated":false,"body_characters":10265}