Con-Way Freight — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 11200 New Jersey Avenue SE u.s. Department Washington. DC 20590 of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Ad ministration AUG 22 2011 Mr. Michael Gardner Manager of Safety Compliance Con-Way Freight 2211 Old Earhart Road Ann Arbor, MI 48105 Ref. No. 11-0063 Dear Mr. Gardner: This responds to your March 2,2011 request for clarification on the recurrent training requirements under § 172.704(c)(2) under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask if it would be acceptable for an employer to provide partial recurrent training annually over the course of a three-year period instead of providing complete recurrent training to all hazmat employees every three years. The answer is no. The HMR do not specifically authorize partial training annually to meet the 3-year recurrent training requirement. Section 172.704(c)(2) requires a hazrnat employee to receive the training at least once every three years. In addition, if major regulatory changes occur within this 3-year recurrent training period, hazrnat employees must receive training on the new regulatory requirements within 90 days of their effective date. Section 172.704(a)(l)-(4) requires hazrnat training to include: general awareness/familiarization training; function-specific training; safety training; and security awareness training. Additionally, § 172.704(a)(5) requires in-depth security training when a security plan is required by part 172, subpart 1. I hope this answers your inquiry. If you need additional assistance, please contact this office at (202) 366-8553. Ben Supko Chief, Standards Development Standards and Rulemaking Division#

Page 2Neve, Seffli' foll.es~ ~oo+he- March 2, 2011 q'17 Z ~ 76 '-/. . TYCltnl()J } ( - ()() b3 U.S. DOT PHMSA Office of Hazardous Materials Standards Attn: PHH-10 East Building 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE. Washington, DC 20590-0001 Attention: Interpretation of §172.704 Training requirements. To Whom it May Concern: I am writing to request an interpretation on the training requirements set forth in §172.704, specifically the requirements under §172.704(c)(2) Recurrent training. If a hazmat employee receives partial (modular) training covering one-third of the complete requirements for recurrent training every 12 months, meaning at the end of each three-year cycle, the employee would have received all required recurrent hazmat training, would this satisfy the requirements of §172.704(c)(2)? In other words, would it be acceptable for an employer to provide partial recurrent training annually that over the course of a three-year period satisfies the requirements of §172.704(c)(2) instead of providing complete recurrent training to all hazmat employees every three years? Respectfully, Michael Gardner Manager of Safety Compliance 2211 Old Earhart Road. Ann Arbor. M148105. (734) 757-1684 Office. (866) 922-6267 Fax#