{"operation":"document","citation":"11-0043","title":"International Vessel Operators Dangerous Goods Association — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2011-03-28","effective_on":null,"summary":"11-0043 response to International Vessel Operators Dangerous Goods Association concerning 173.166.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0043.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0043.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0043","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110043.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nMAR 28 2011\nMr. John V. Currie\nAdministrator\nInternational Vessel Operators\nDangerous Goods Association\n10 Hunter Brook Lane\nQueensbury, NY 12804\nRef. No.: 11-0043\nDear Mr. Currie:\nThis responds to your February 17, 2011 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to shipping papers. As\nrequired by § 173.166(c), for approved air bag inflators, air bag modules, or seat-belt\npretensioners, the shipping paper must include the EX number or product code in association\nwith the basic shipping description. Specifically, you ask whether multiple EX numbers or\nproduct codes corresponding to various approved airbag modules may be displayed in\nassociation with a single proper shipping name and basic description (e.g. UN3268, Air bag\nmodules, 9, III).\nYes, a shipping paper describing multiple air bag modules packaged together in the same\npackage or freight container described by the same UN number, proper shipping name, hazard\nclass, and packing group may display multiple EX numbers or product codes in association\nwith a single basic description. EX numbers or product codes, associated with a different\nproper shipping name (e.g. seat-belt pretensioners or air bag inflators) must be described\nseparately.\nI hope this answers your inquiry. If you need additional assistance, please contact the\nStandards and Rulemaking Division.\nSincerely,\n'B&<-S~\nBen Supko\nActing Chief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nGA\nINTERNATIONAL VESSEL OPERATORS\nDANGEROUS GOODS ASSOCIATION\n10 Hunter Brook Lane, NY 12804· 51eI761-()26~· FAX S18179H761\nFebruary 17, 2011\nMagdy EI-Sibaie, PhD\nActing Associate Administrator, Hazardous Materials Safety\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nUS Department of Transportation\n1200 New Jersey Ave., SE\nEast Bldg. Second Floor\n(PH) Washington, DC 20590-0001\nDear Dr. EI-Sibaie:\nThe International Vessel Operators Dangerous Goods Association Inc. (IVODGA) hereby\nsubmits a request for interpretation regarding the requirement at §173.166(c) to provide the EX\nnumber or product code for each approved inflator, module, or seat-belt pretensioner in\nassociation with the basic description required by § 172.200(a) of the HMR.\nIVODGA is an international not-for-profit organization representing 26 of the major containership\nlines registered under the flags of many nations and calling ports in the United States as a\nmajor link in the intermodal transportation of dangerous goods by ocean, road and rail within the\nU.S. and North America. We are dedicated to assisting our members and the public in\nevaluating the practicality and efficacy of laws, rules and regulations for the safe transportation\nand distribution of hazardous materials/dangerous goods.\n§173.166(c) requires that when offered for transportation, the shipping paper must contain the\nEX number or product code for each approved inflator, module, or seat-belt pretensioner in\nassociation with the basic description required by §172.200(a) of the HMR. Multi-modal\ntransporters have recently experienced a significant obstacle to the safe and efficient movement\nof these articles due to confusion resulting in what appears to be an erroneous interpretation of\nthe language and intent of this regulatory requirement. It is our position that this regulation\nrequires the EX number or product code in order to trace the approval of the device to the\nmanufacturer and design type as identified within the application as submitted to the Associate\nAdministrator and the written approval with the assigned EX number.\nHistorically, shippers have described these articles on a shipping paper accompanying a freight\ncontainer that often may contain hundreds of packages of various devices, some with several\ndifferent devices packed within each package but all described by the same proper shipping\n\"Committed to the promotion of the safe handling and transportation ofhazardous materials.\"\nAlianca Navegacao E Logistica Ltda + APL, Ltd .• Atlantic Container Line + Bermuda Container Line + China Shipping (NA)\nAgency Co., Inc. + COSCO Container Lines Americas, Inc. + Crowley Maritime Corporation. Evergreen America Corporation +\nHamburg·Sud + Hanjin Shipping + Hapag-L1oyd AG + Horizon Lines, LLC + Hyundai America Shipping Agency + Independent\nContainer Line, Ltd. + K Line America, Inc. + Maersk Inc. + Marine Transport Management, Inc., a Crowley Co. Matson\nNavigation Company + Minyan Marine + MOL (America) Inc. + NSCSA (America), Inc. + NYK Line (North America) Inc. + OOCL\n(USA) Inc. + PO Shipping Agency (USA), Inc .• Safmarine Container Lines Inc. + Seaboard Marine, Ltd. + Tropical Shipping\nUSA, LLC. +yang Ming Marine Transportation Corp\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nname and basic description. The entry then included the EX numbers for each design type\nwithin the shipment of articles within this commonly shared description, i.e. \"UN3268, Air bag\nmodules, Class 9, III, EX**··, EX····, EX···· \". We have recently experienced refusals to accept\ncargo by one rail carrier who has interpreted the § 173.166( c) requirement to mean that each EX\nnumber must have its own entry on the shippers declaration. This practice has a resultant effect\nthat the manifest provided for a single freight container with multiple devices described by the\nsame proper shipping name could be hundreds of pages in volume.\nIVODGA feels that these multiple page documents, which often may be used for shipments of\nseveral container-loads of the same devices, actually create an unsafe situation if an\nemergency were to occur during transportation since the emergency responders would need to\nreview hundreds, if not thousands of pages describing the devices by the same basic\ndescription with the only difference being that each entry would represent one EX number\napproval. One of the primary purposes of the shipping paper description is to provide a means\nfor the emergency responder to quickly identify the hazardous materials within the shipment.\nThe EX number has no value to the responder on-scene. The multi-page document for like\ndevices is unnecessarily long and creates additional inefficiency for carriers and shippers\nwhereas a single page document for each freight container may suffice.\nWe would request clarification regarding the intent of §173.166(c). Are we correct in our position\nthat devices packed within a freight container and described by the same UN number, proper\nshipping name, hazard class, and packing group could be described by a single entry with the\nEX numbers or product codes for each design type of those devices therein entered in\nassociation with that basic description? IVODGA feels that this method meets the requirements\nof this section to provide the EX number or product code in association with the basic\ndescription required by § 172.202(a) of the HMR.\nWe look forward to and thank you for your prompt response to this issue which has a significant\nimpact on safety and efficiency in the intermodal movement of hazardous materials.\nSincerely yours,\nJohn V. Currie\nIVODGA Administrator\nCc: William Schoonover, Staff Dir Office of Safety Enforcement,\nFederal Railroad Administration","truncated":false,"body_characters":7358}