{"operation":"document","citation":"10-0242","title":"URS Corporation — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2011-02-14","effective_on":null,"summary":"10-0242 response to URS Corporation concerning 173.12.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0242.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0242.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-10-0242","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2010/100242.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue. SE\nWashington. DC 20590\nFEB 1 4 2011\nMs. Erin N. Jarman\nEnvironmental Scientist\nURS Corporation\n1600 Perimeter Park Drive, Suite 400\nMorrisville, NC 27560\nReference No. 10-0242\nDear Ms. Jarman:\nThis is in response to your letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR;\n49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the retention of closure instructions. Your inquiries pertain to the\nrequirements prescribed in § 178.2( c)(1 )(ii) for retaining closure instructions for hazardous materials\n(hazmat) packagings, which became effective on October 1, 2010, in two final rules issued under\nDocket No. PHMSA·06-25736 (HM-231) (2/2/10, 75 FR 5376; 9/30/1 0, 75 FR 60333). We\nparaphrased your questions and answered them in the order you provided.\nQ I. If a recipient of a completed hazardous materials package reoffers it in commerce in the same\nmanner that he or she received it, i.e., without ever opening or modifying the package, does the\nrequirement prescribed in § 1 78.2(c)(l)(ii) to retain closure instructions for this package apply to\nthis shipment?\nAI. As specified in § 178.2(c)(i)(A), closure instruction notification is required to inform the user ofa\nhazardous materials packaging of all the requirements the packaging does not meet at the time of\ntransfer. A completed package that is properly closed meets all the requirements contained in its\nclosure instruction notification at the time it is offered for transportation. The reuse provisions in\n§ 173.28(a) require that all packagings and receptacles used more than once be in such condition\nthat they conform in all respects to the HMR. Therefore, provided the package is not opened and\ncontinues to meet its performance standard, the HMR does not require the person who received the\npackage and is re-offering it for transportation to retain its closure instructions.\nQ2. The recipient of a product wishes to reuse the packaging that previously held the product to ship\nwaste material for disposal or recovery. Section 173.12(c) states this reused packaging is not\nsubject to the reconditioning and reuse requirements prescribed in § 173.28 and 49 CFR Part 178.\nDoes this exception from 49 CFR Part 178 also extend to the requirement to retain the\nmanufacturer's closure instructions for a period of 365 days as prescribed in § 178.2(c)(l)(ii)?\nA2. The exception in § 173.12(c) applies only to the reuse and reconditioning requirements for\npackagings prescribed in § 173.28 and 49 CFR Part 178 and not to the packaging closure\ninstructions prescribed in § 178.2(c). These closure instructions apply to all 49 CFR Part 178\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\npackagings, except as specifically provided in §§ 178.337-18 and 178.345-10, that must be closed\nbefore being offered for transportation. A previously authorized hazardous materials package that\nwas closed and then re-opened has been altered. To meet its performance standard, the packaging\nmust be properly closed in conformance with its closure instructions. See § 1 78.2( c). Whoever\nperforms this closure action must obtain and retain these closure instructions for 12 months for a\nsingle or composite packaging and every 24 months for a combination packaging from the date the\npackage is offered for transportation and must make this document available for inspection by a\nrepresentative of the Department of Transportation.\nI hope this satisfies your request.\nSincerel~/ /\nr~t~~\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nNovember 10, 2010\nMr. Charles E. Betts\nDirector, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards\nU.S. DOTIPHMSA (PHH-1O)\n1200 New Jersey A venue, SE East Building, 2nd Floor\nWashington, DC 20590\nDear Mr. Betts:\nI am writing to you with regards to the new requirement for the retention of manufacturer's\nclosure instructions that became effective October 1, 2010. Per a conversation with Mr.\nArthur Pollack on November 3,2010, we have already received a verbal clarification for\nthese questions, however a formal written interpretation is needed.\nIt is clear from the February 2, 2010 Final Rule (75 FR 5376) that copies of each\nmanufacturer's closure instruction must be retained for at least 365 days from the date that\nthe package is offered to the transporter. However, it is unclear under which circumstances\nthis retention requirement applies.\nMy questions are as follows:\nt) Ifa recipient of a completed package reoffers the package for transportation in\ncommerce exactly as they received it, without ever having opened it or modified the\npackage, does the requirement to retain closure instructions for the package apply to this\nshipment?\n2) The recipient of a product wishes to reuse the packaging that previously held their\nproduct to ship a waste material for disposal or recovery. Per 49 CFR §173.12(c), the reuse\nof such packaging is not subject to the reconditioning and reuse provisions contained in\n49 CFR § 173.28 and Part 178. Would this exception from Part 178 also extend to the\nrequirement to retain the manufacturer's closure instructions for a period of365 days as set\nout in 49 CFR §178.2(c)(I)(ii)?\nThank you in advance for your assistance. I look forward to your response.\nSincerely,\n~'lLr~\nErin N. Jarman\nEnvironmental Scientist\nURS Corporation\n1600 Perimeter Park Drive, Suite 400\nMorrisville, NC 27560\nTel: 919-461-1478\nErin _Jarman@urscorp.com","truncated":false,"body_characters":5513}