{"operation":"document","citation":"10-0055","title":"MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2010-10-26","effective_on":null,"summary":"10-0055 response to MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company concerning 172.101, 173.115, 173.202, 173.242.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0055.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0055.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0055","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2010/100055.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nOCT 26 20m\n1200 New Jersey Ave, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nMr. Douglas E. Lunstra\nManager, Safety Audit and Compliance\nMidAmerican Energy Holdings Company\n1200 South Blauvelt Avenue\nSioux Falls, SD 57105\nReference No. 10-0055\nDear Mr. Lunstra:\nThis is in response to your e-mail to the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety\nAdministration's (PHMSA's) Hazardous Materials Information Center requesting clarification of\nthe Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to packaging.\nSpecifically, you state your company wants to transport \"UN 3336, Mercaptan mixture, liquid,\nflammable, n.o.s., 3 (flammable liquid), Packing Group (PG) II\" in tightly sealed DOT\nSpecification 4BW 240 cylinders. You state the product has a strong odor and your company\nwould like to use these cylinders with a 450 L (119 gallon) capacity to transport this product in\naccordance with the HMR.\nYou state vendors ofthese cylinders have informed you their standard cylinder in this size has a\nwater capacity of 1,000 pounds. You state that you have always considered this equal to\n119 gallons in volume, but have learned the cylinder's liquid capacity is 119.8 gallons. We have\nparaphrased your questions and answered them in the order you provided. We apologize for the\ndelay in responding and any inconvenience this may have caused.\nQl. Is a 1,000 pound water capacity cylinder that is considered a non-bulk packaging for\nDivision 2.1 (flammable) gases, such as ''UN 1075, Petroleum gases, liquefied,\" a bulk\npackaging when used to transport Class 3 (flammable) liquids?\nAI. No. Any cylinder with a water capacity of454 kg (1,000 pounds) or less as a receptacle for\na gas as defined in § 173.115 is a non-bulk packaging under the HMR (see § 171. 8). A\ncylinder is considered a bulk or non-bulk packaging based on the capacity ofthe cylinder,\nnot the weight or volume ofhazardous material contained in the cylinder.\nQ2. If a 1,000 pound water capacity cylinder is considered a bulk packaging for flammable\nliquids, is this cylinder no longer acceptable as a packaging for PG II flammable liquids\nsince cylinders are not authorized under § 173.242 in Column (8C) ofthe Hazardous\nMaterials Table (§ 172.101 Table) as a bulk packaging for these liquids?\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nA2. In 2005 (70 FR 34066), PHMSA revised the HMR to set forth both non-bulk and bulk\ncylinder packaging authorizations in the packaging sections prescribed for a hazardous\nmaterial in Column (8B) ofthe § 172.101 Table, with certain exceptions (see\n§ 172.101(i)(5». For \"UN 3336, Mercaptan mixture, liquid, flammable, n.o.s., 3, PG II,\"\nthis packaging section is § 173.202. Therefore, as prescribed in § 172.101 (i)(5),\n§ 173.202(c) authorizes the use ofnon-bulk and bulk DOT specification cylinders, with the\nexception ofDOT Specification 8 and 3HT cylinders, as a packaging for this mercaptan\nmixture provided it is prepared and transported in accordance with all applicable\nrequirements ofthe HMR.\nQ3. Does the language in § 173.202 that authorizes DOT specification cylinders prescribed in\nthe HMR for a compressed gas, other than DOT Specification 8 and 3HT cylinders, allow a\n1,000 pound water capacity cylinder to be used as a packaging for PG II flammable liquid?\nA3. Yes. See Answer A2.\nI hope this satisfies your request.\n;7/~~\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFrom: Supko, Ben (PHMSA)\nSent: Monday, March 08, 2010 10:10 AM\nTo: Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nSubject: FW: Bulk vs. Non-Bulk Packaging\nFrom: Lunstra, Douglas E\nSent: Thursday, November 19, 20098:22 AM\nTo: 'infocntr@dot.gov'\nSubject: Bulk vs. Non-Bulk Packaging\nPlease provide guidance on the proper packaging application for hazardous materials. We transport Mercaptan\nmixture, liquid, flammable, n.o.s., Hazard Class 3, UN3336, PGII, and want to standardize on the appropriate\nnon-bulk packaging. The material is used as natural gas odorant and is very odoriferous. We plan to use\ncylinders to transport this product as it needs to be sealed tightly to avoid escaping odors and the potential\nnuisance of erroneous reports of natural gas leaks that escaping odors would create.\nThe general requirements for packaging for liquid hazardous materials in packing group II at 49CFR 173.202\nallows the use of \"Cylinders, specification, as prescribed for any compressed gas, except for Specifications 8\nand 3HT\" for non-bulk packaging. We are in the process of acquiring cylinders and had specified \"DOT 4BW\n240\" with a 119 gallon capacity. Vendors advised us that their standard cylinder in this size is 1,000 pounds\nwater capacity.\n§171.8 provides definitions for bulk and non-bulk packaging:\nBulk packaging means a packaging, ... which has:\n(1) A maximum capacity greater than 450 L (119 gallons) as a receptacle for a liquid;\n(2) ... ; or\n(3) A water capacity greater than 454 kg (1000 pounds) as a receptacle for a gas as defined in §173.115 ofthis\nsubchapter.\nNon-bulk packaging means a packaging which has:\n(1) A maximum capacity of 450 L (119 gallons) or less as a receptacle for a liquid;\n(2) ... ; or\n(3) A water capacity of 454 kg (1000 pounds) or less as a receptacle for a gas as defined in § 173.115 of this\nsubchapter.\nWe had always considered the 119 gallon and the 1,000 pound water capacity to be the same volume; however,\nthe 1,000 pound water capacity cylinder has a liquid capacity of approximately 119.8 gallons.\nQuestions:\n1. 2. Does this 1,000 pound water capacity cylinder that would be non-bulk packaging for Hazardous Class\n2.1 material such as propane (Petroleum gases, liquefied) constitute a bulk packaging when used for a\nflammable liquid, Hazard Class 3?\nIf it is considered a bulk packaging, is this cylinder no longer acceptable, as cylinders are not included as\nauthorized for bulk packagings in § 173.242?\n1","truncated":false,"body_characters":5987}