{"operation":"document","citation":"11-0070","title":"DS Environmental Solutions — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2011-04-21","effective_on":null,"summary":"11-0070 response to DS Environmental Solutions concerning 173.22.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0070.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0070.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0070","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110070.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nAPR 21 2011\nMr. Ricardo Guerra\nOS Environmental Solutions\nFloral Park\n62 Gautier Benitez\nSan Juan, PR 00917\n1200 New Jersey Ave, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nRef. No. 11-0070\nDear Mr. Guerra:\nThis responds to your December 21, 2010 letter and follow-up emails requesting clarification of\nthe Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you inquire\nas to the applicability ofthe HMR to shipments of scrap dental amalgam. According to your\nletter, the material that you intend to ship is dental amalgam that is not derived from the medical\ntreatment ofhumans, in that it has not been in contact with a patient; rather, it is the excess\namalgam that remains unused in a dental filling procedure. You indicate that the amalgam\ncontains approximately 50% mercury and 50% metal alloy, which is comprised of silver, copper\nand tin. You further state that you intend to ship approximately 6 ounces of amalgam at a time.\nYou ask several questions regarding the classification ofthe scrap dental amalgam. Your\nquestions are paraphrased and answered as follows:\nQl. Is the scrap amalgam considered to be regulated medical waste?\nAI. Under § 173.22, it is the shipper's responsibility to properly classify and describe a\nhazardous material. This office does not normally perform that function. However, provided\nthe amalgam does not come in contact with a patient or bodily fluids, it is not considered a\nregulated medical waste as defined in § 173.134 ofthe HMR.\nQ2. Is the scrap amalgam considered a hazardous waste?\nA2. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and implementing states regulate the\ncollection and management of certain widely generated wastes, such as mercury-containing\nequipment, as a universal waste. Certain states include dental amalgam waste as a universal\nwaste. Universal waste is not subject to the Hazardous Waste Manifest Requirements specified\nin 40 CFR part 262 and thus, is not a hazardous waste as defined in the HMR (see § 171.8).\nEPA Region 2 oversees the universal waste program for Puerto Rico. For more information\nregarding EPA universal waste regulations as they apply to dental amalgam, please contact the\nEPA Region 2 Division of Environmental Planning and Protection (DEPP) at 877-251-4575.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nQ3. May we use the Unites States Postal Service (USPS), UPS or FedEx to ship the scrap\namalgam?\nA3. As we explain in AI, under § 173.22, it is the shipper's responsibility to properly classify\nand describe a hazardous material. However, it is our understanding that corrosive\ncharacteristics typically associated with liquid mercury are neutralized during the formation of\namalgam. Therefore, given that amalgam does not meet the one pound RQ for mercury and\ndoes not meet any of the criteria of a hazardous material specified in § 171.8, it would not be\nsubject to the HMR.\nIf you choose to transport the material using a common carrier, you should contact that carrier\ndirectly to determine if the carrier will transport the material. Postal shipments are under the\njurisdiction of the USPS. Shipments of hazardous materials by the USPS are governed by 39\nCFR Part 124, Domestic Mail Manual, U.S. Postal Service Regulations. For more information\nregarding the USPS hazardous materials regulations, you may call Mary Collins at\n202-268-5440.\nQ4. Do we need a permit issued by PHMSA to transport the scrap amalgam?\nA4. No. See A3.\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please contact this office at\n(202) 366-8553.\nSincerely,\n/\\\n~\nBen Supko\nActing Chief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nnvironmental\n·Solutions\nFlorill Park 1 62 Gaulief Benitez ! S,1n J\\lMl, Puerlo Biw 00917 1/\n\\~\nDecember 21,2010\nTo whom it may concern:\nMy name is Ricardo Guerra, president and owner ofDS Environmental Solutions. My\ncompany is trying to give service to the dental community. Recovering various hazardous\nwastes that they produce in their offices. One ofthem is the dental amalgam. This commonly\nuse metal mixture has been used around 150 years by dentists all over the world.\nToday's dental community uses a pre-measure, pre-capsulated dental amalgam. These\ncapsules contain approximately 50% mercury and 50% metal alloy (metal alloy composition:\n'silver, copper and tin). When you observe the MSDS ofdifferent amalgam manufacturer they\nare almost the same. They mention mercury as a hazardous material and give all the\ninformation regarding this metal. We have to mention that the dentist receives the capsule\ncontaining the mercury and the metal alloy separately. In other words, inside the capsule you\nfind a part that is solid (metal alloy) and another part that is liquid (mercury).\nIfthe dentist needs to use the amalgam in a patient he put the capsule in a machine that is\ngoing to shake the capsule vigorously. After that the amalgam is ready to fill the cavity in the\ntooth. When the dentist finishes his job there is always an amalgam remainder. This residue\nis solid and I haven't found the MSDS ofthis product. My intention, as a company, is to\nrecover that residue and send it, preferably by mail, to a company that recycles the material.\nIn order to the things correctly I have some questions that I haven't found the answer.\n1) Is this residue consider as a:\na) Medical waste- regulated\nb) Medical waste- non-regulated\nc) Hazardous waste- regulated\nd) Hazardous waste-non regulated\n2) Can we send this material to the recycling company using United States Postal\nService or other air cargo transport company like UPS or FedEx?\n3) Do we need a permit issue by your department to transport the amalgam residue? If\nis yes, how can I can I access an application and what kind of permit we need to\ncomply the regulations.\nPlease include in the answer the correct course of action regarding the correct way of\ntransporting it. Including correct packaging and labeling. Consider that biggest amount of\namalgam to be ship is around 6 ounces. Thanks in advance for your time and effort.\nSincerely,\nRicarda Guerra\n181-111-0081\nFloral Park,\n62 Gautier Benitez\nSan Juan, Puerto Rico 00917\nEmail: rgue33@gmail.com","truncated":false,"body_characters":6252}