Bureau of Waste Prevention Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 APR 0 8 201\ Mr. Bill Siroll Chief, Enforcement Support Branch Business Compliance Division Bureau of Waste Prevention Massachusetts Department ofEnvironmental Protection One Winter Street, 7th Floor Boston, MA 02108 Reference No. 10-0059 Dear Mr. Siroll: This is in response to your e-mail to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's Hazardous Materials Information Center requesting clarification ofthe Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). In your e-mail, you ask for confirmation that the transportation of virgin mineral spirits, such as "NA 1993, Combustible liquid, n.o.s. (petroleum naphtha), Combustible liquid, Packing Group (PG) III," in non-bulk packages that typically have a capacity of 50 gallons or less, is not regulated under the HMR. You state that the product: has a flash point between 140 OF and 200 OF, contains cleaner solvents when shipped from the receiver back to the manufacturer, is not regulated under the HMR or the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a state-regulated waste. We apologize for the delay in responding and any inconvenience this may have caused. Under the HMR, a waste that is subject to the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest (UHWM) Requirements ofthe U. S. Environmental Protection Agency specified in 40 CFR Part 262 is regulated for purposes of transportation as a "hazardous waste." A waste that does not require completion of a UHWM is not considered a "hazardous waste" for purposes oftransportation and is not subject to the requirements ofthe HMR, unless it meets the definition of a hazardous material under the HMR. Thus, a State-regulated waste that does not require completion of a UHWM and is not a hazardous material as defined in the HMR is not subject to the regulations under the HMR. Such a material may be described using the shipping name, "State Regulated Petroleum Naptha Waste." However, its description on the shipping paper or manifest may not include a hazard class oridentification number specified in the § 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table (see § 172.202(e». A IIcombustible liquid" is defined as a material that has a flash point above 60°C (140 OF) and below 93 °C (200 OF) and does not meet the definition of any other hazard class under the HMR (see § 173.120(b)(1». A combustible liquid, that is not a hazardous substance, hazardous waste, or a marine pollutant and is packaged in a non-bulk packaging, i.e., a packaging having a liquid capacity#

Page 2of 450 L (119 gallons) or less, is not subject to any other requirements under the HMR (see § 173.150(f)(2». Therefore, the material you described may be shipped using a Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection State-specific shipping paper. I hope this satisfies your request. Sincerely, rY~~7-o?SiL. T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division 2#

Page 3• Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) From: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Sent: Tuesday, March 09,20102:57 PM To: Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) Subject: FW: Request for formal Letter of Interpretation l 0 -ODE,,? 3Lu'rp~V\1~f«S ~ " From: Sirull, William (DEP) [mailto;William.Sirull@state.ma.us] t(\ Sent: Tuesday, March 09, 2010 2;12 PM To: PHMSA HM InfoCenter Subject: FW: Request for formal Letter of Interpretation Dear Sir/Madam: Could the Hazardous Materials Information Center please forward the following request for a formal Letter of Interpretation to PHMSA -OHMS for a written response: A transportation company provides virgin mineral spirits (petroleum naphtha) (flash point between 140 degrees and 200 degrees Fahrenheit) to its customers in Massachusetts and in return collects the waste mineral spirits after it has been used to clean metal parts, become spent and needs to be reclaimed. The virgin mineral spirits and the waste mineral spirits are transported in non-bulk packaging, typically in containers of less than 50 gallons. The company's Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the virgin mineral spirits in the section for Transport Information reads: DOT Non-Bulk Package « 119G container) Shipping Name: Mineral Spirits (Petroleum Naphtha)(Not DOT regulated) DOT Bulk Package (>119 G container) Shipping Name: Combustible liquid, n.o.s. (petroleum naphtha) UN/NA #: NA 1993 Hazard Class: Combustible Liquid Packaging Group: III Placards: Class 3, NA 1993 To ship the mineral spirits in non-bulk packaging, the transportation company uses the following description on the shipping paper accompanying the transport ofthe waste mineral spirits: Non-DOT/RCRA Regulated Used Parts Cleaner Solvent « 119 G cont), (Naptha) Given what the company states in the MSDS for the virgin mineral spirits and on the shipping paper for the waste mineral spirits, it is MassDEP's understanding that shipments of the mineral spirits, both virgin and waste, in non-bulk packaging are NOT USDOT-regulated. Therefore, MassDEP is requesting a Letter of Interpretation regarding whether MassDEP can prescribe a State-specific shipping paper to accompany shipments of waste mineral spirits in Ma.ss. collected in non-bulk packaging by the transportation company? The State-specific shipping paper would typically be Signed by a consignee in another State. The waste mineral spirits is a Massachusetts-regulated hazardous waste (waste oil) but it is not regulated under the USEPA RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act) hazardous waste program. 1#

Page 4If there are any questions about this request, please contact me as directed below . • Thank you for your assistance with this matter. Bill Sirull Chief, Enforcement Support Branch Business Compliance Division Bureau of Waste Prevention Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) One Winter Street, 7th floor Boston, MA. 02108 phone: 617-292-5838 fax: 617-556-1063 email: <william.sirull@state.ma.us> 2#