Minnesota Department of Transportation — 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 SEP 3 2010 Mr. Mike Ritchie Hazardous Materials Specialist Minnesota Department of Transportation 395 John Ireland Boulevard, Mail Stop 460 St. Paul, MN 55155 Ref No. 10-0149 Dear Mr. Ritchie: This responds to your July 16,2010 letter requesting clarification ofthe overpack marking and labeling requirements under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171180). Specifically, you ask if clear shrink wrapped pallets must be marked on the outside with the required package markings (e.g., proper shipping name, identification number, orientation arrows, and "OVERPACK") when the markings on individual packages are not visible because ofthe package configuration, but markings and labels representative of each hazardous material are visible from the outside of the overpack. Your areas of concern are restated and answered as follows: Labels and Proper Shipping Name/Identification Number Markings Section 173.2S(a)(2) requires the overpack to be marked with the proper shipping name and identification number, and labeled for each hazardous material contained therein, unless markings and labels representative of each hazardous material in the overpack are visible. For example, an overpack need not be marked and labeled if the markings (i.e., proper shipping name and identification number) and labels on an individual package inside the overpack are not visible but the same markings (i.e., proper shipping name and identification number) and labels representative of that package are clearly visible from the outside on another package contained in that overpack. Orientation Arrow Marking Section 173.2S(a)(3) requires an overpack containing packages subject to the orientation arrow marking requirements of § 172.312 to be marked with orientation arrows on two opposite vertical sides of the overpack. This requirement is in addition to the orientation arrows displayed on the individual packages.#

Page 2"OVERPACK" Marking Section 173.25(a)(4) requires an overpack to be marked "OVERPACK" when specification packagings are required, unless specification markings on the inside packages are visible. The "OVERPACK" marking is not required if the overpack contains multiple packages with identical package specification markings provided package specification markings representative of each package specification contained in the overpack are visible from the outside. I hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please contact this office. Sincerely, Ben Supko Acting Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards#

Page 3Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) £jeh erJ (eutb ~ li3 .;;25 1/3.812.. From: Sent: To: Subject: Betts, Charles (PHMSA) Friday, July 16, 20102:56 PM Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) FW: Marking of overpacks overpa..c ks to - 01'-19 Please log this in as a new request for interpretation. Thanks, Charles From: Ritchie, Mike (DOT) [mailto:MichaeI.Ritchie@state.mn.us] Sent: Friday, July 16, 2010 2:29 PM To: Betts, Charles (PHMSA) Subject: Marking of overpacks July 16, 2010 Charles Betts Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards USDOT/ PHMSA 1200 New Jersey Avenue Washington, DC 20590 Re: Marking, Labeling and Display of Package Specifications on Overpacks Dear Mr. Betts, 49 CFR 173.25 requires overpacks to be marked with the proper shipping name and identification number, and the authorized labels, for each hazardous material contained in the overpack, unless those labels and marks are visible On the packages. Paragraph (a) (4) of that section requires the overpack to be marked with the word OVERPACK when the hazardous material is required to be in specification packaging unless the speCification markings on the inside packages are visible. The most common type of overpack our safety investigators encounter while doing Hazardous Materials Package Inspection Program (HMPIP) inspections are shrink wrapped pallets. Many are not marked OVERPACK. These pallets often contain different types of packages, for example drums and boxes On the same pallet, and may contain several different hazardous materials. Labels and marking on packages loaded in the center of the pallet are not visible because they are covered by packages on the edge or top of the pallet. Many non-bulk packages display the required hazmat marking and labels on a different surface than the printed or embossed specification marking required by §178.3. Question: If an overpack contains packages requiring specification marks, must all specification marks on each package be visible or is a representative sample of each different specification mark acceptable? 1#

Page 4Question: If packages displaying orientation arrows as required in §172.312 are in an overpack, and those orientation arrows are visible on the packages on two opposite sides of the overpack, must additional orientation arrows be added the outside ofthe overpack to comply with §173.25 (a) (3)7 Yours truly, Michael Ritchie Hazardous Materials Specialist Minnesota Department of Transportation Office of Freight &Commercial Vehicle Operations 395 John Ireland Boulevard, Mail Stop 460 St. Paul, MN 55155-1899 (651) 366-3697 2#