{"operation":"document","citation":"11-0085","title":"Triumvirate Environmental — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2011-08-12","effective_on":null,"summary":"11-0085 response to Triumvirate Environmental concerning 173.28, 178.503, 178.65.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0085.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0085.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0085","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110085.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE\nof Transportation Washington. DC 20590\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\nMr. Thomas Goss\nRecycling Strategist\nTriumvirate Environmental\n61 Innerbelt Road\nSomerville, MA 02143\nReference No. 11-0085\nDear Mr. Goss:\nThis is in response to your April 5, 2011 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) concerning whether non-reusable\nsolid-rated hazardous materials packagings may be used multiple times to ship various\nhazardous materials. We have paraphrased your questions and answered them in the order\nyou provided.\nQl. Do the HMR permit a UN-certified, non-bulk, solid-rated shipping container with\nan \"NRC\" marking to be reused multiple times if the container otherwise appears\nappropriate for multiple reuse?\nAI. Under the HMR, there is no specific marking on a \"UN\" packaging that designates\nthe packaging can be used only one time to ship hazardous materials. Except for\npackagings made of paper (except fiberboard), plastic film, or textile, which cannot\nbe reused (see § 173.28(b)(3», non-reusable containers, as this term is defined in\n§ 171.8, marked with the letters \"NRC\" may be reused to contain any material that\nis not required to be shipped in a DOT specification or UN standard packaging (see\n§ 173.28(e». Please note, a reused packaging must be in such condition that it is\ncapable of passing all performance tests represented by the packaging markings. In\naddition, plastic drums and jerricans used as single packagings or outer packagings\nof composite packagings are authorized for reuse only when they are marked with a\nminimum thickness in millimeters in a permanent manner (e.g., embossed) (see\n§§ 173.28 and 178.503(a)(9». Prior to rulemakings this agency issued in 1990 and\n1991 to align the HMR with international requirements, the letters \"STC\" (single\ntrip container) and \"NRC\" (nonreusable container) were used as markings on\ncertain, now obsolete, DOT specification non-bulk packagings that restricted the\nuse of those packagings (see Docket No. HM-181). Currently, the only packaging\nrequired to have an NRC marking under the HMR is the DOT 39 cylinder (see\n§ 178.65(i)(2)(ii».\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nQ2. Section 173 .28( e) contains the statement \"A packaging marked as NRC according\nto DOT specification or UN standard requirements of Part 178 of this\nsubchapter....\" However, there do not appear to be any references to the \"NRC\"\nmarking in 49 CFR Part 178, Subpart L, \"Non-bulk Performance-Oriented\nPackaging Standards.\" Does that imply that the \"NRC\" marking is not applicable\nto this container type?\nA2. See Answer AI.\nQ3. Is a container manufacturer's decision to mark the letters ''NRC'' onto a shipping\ncontainer based on specific qualifying criteria that is defined by DOT or any other\nregulatory agency?\nA3. In addition to requiring the NRC marking under § 178.65(i)(2)(ii) for a DOT 39\ncylinder, the HMR also authorize the transportation of radioactive hazardous\nmaterials in packagings approved by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC)\nthat include as part of its specification marking the letters \"NRC.\" For further\ninformation on these requirements, see § 172.203( d)(7), and the introductory\nparagraph and paragraph (b) of § 173.471.\nQ4. Does § 173.28( e) give container manufacturers overriding discretion to determine\nwhether or not a drum can be reused multiple times for shipments of hazardous\nmaterial regardless of whether or not a container is appropriate for reuse by all\nother standards?\nA4. Under § 173.28(e), a packaging manufacturer may use his or her discretion to\ndetermine if a non-reusable DOT specification or UN standard packaging marked\n\"NRC\" may be used multiple times to ship a hazardous material under two\nconditions. The first is the .material being shipped is not required to be in a DOT\nspecification or UN standard packaging. In this instance, a non-bulk drum\npackaging need only conform to the requirements of §§ 173.24 and 173.24a. The\nsecond is the packaging must meet the applicable criteria prescribed in § 173.28 for\nits design and type.\n05. Can a container manufacturer grant written approval for ongoing container reuse to\na specific container user which overrides a permanent \"NRC\" indication on a\ncontainer that they manufacture? .\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nA5. The answer is no. Obtaining written permission to use a container in a manner that\nis not prescribed in the HMR can only be obtained through issuance of a special\npermit or approval issued by this agency's Associate Administrator for Hazardous\nMaterials Safety, or other designated U.S. Department of Transportation official.\nThe application process is described in 49 CFR Part 107, Subparts B (Special\nPermits) and H (Approval).\nI hope this satisfies your request.\nSincerely,\nr-7r4~~\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n3\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nEDUCATION HEALTHCARE INDUSTRIAL LIFE SCIENCES\nENV1RO TAL\nApri15,2011 EcilY1ol)son\nMr. Charles E. Betts\nDirector, Office of Hazardous Material Standards U.S. DOT/PHMSA (PHH-10)\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20590-0001 ~ i73 . .2BCe)\n\"Reuse\n1I-00S5\nDear Mr. Betts,\nI have several questions for the DOT relevant to section 173.28{e) of 49 CFR as related to solid-rated\ncontainers reused mUltiple times to ship non-bulk quantities/volumes of various hazardous materials.\nContext\nCurrently we own and operate a facility where UN-certified, non-bulk, solid-rated containers filled with\ninner bottles of various hazardous materials are received and emptied in a permitted repackaging/bulking\nprocedure. Our clients present the various hazardous materials to our field staff at remote locations. Our\nfield staff is responsible for packaging and transporting these materials back to our facility. The shipping\ncontainers that our field staff members use are purchased from outside brokers, manufacturers and\nreconditioners, and come in various size, shape and composition.\nAs a result of our facility repackaging/bulking process we are left with an excess quantity of empty\nshipping containers which are currently discarded as solid waste. As an alternative to disposing of these\nempty containers, we are exploring the possibility of returning the containers to our supply warehouses\nso that they can be reused by our field staff multiple times to ship our clients' hazardous materials in\naccordance with guidance provided in 49 CFR 173.28.\nWe have discovered that some of the solid-rated, shipping containers that we receive, empty and intend\nto reuse are marked with the letters \"t\\IRC\". If you omit the language in 173.28{e) of 49 CFR, many of\nthese containers are physically appropriate for multiple reuses pending an inspection prescribed by DOT\nin 49 CFR 173.28{a).\nWe are aware that the language in 49 CFR 173.12{c) allows us relief from the provisions contained in 49\nCFR 173.28 under certain circumstances. It is our understanding that the language contained in 173.12{c)\nwould not apply to the situation that I have described above because it is our intent to reuse shipping\ncontainers more than once.\nI am hopeful that you can answer some questions that this issue has raised.\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nTRIUMVIRATE EDUCATION HEALTHCARE IN\nLIFE SCIENCES\nENVI~ONMENTAL\n1. Questions\nDoes an \"NRC\" marking prevent us from reusing a UN-certified, non-bulk, solid-rated shipping\ncontainer multiple times even if the container otherwise appropriate for multiple reuses?\n2. 49 CFR 173.28(e) contains the statement \"A packaging marked as NRC according to DOT\nspecification or UN standard requirements of part 178 of this subchapter ...\" However, there does\nnot appear to be any references to the \"NRC\" marking in Subpart L \"Non-bulk Performance Oriented\nPackaging Standards\". Does this imply that the \"NRC\" marking is not applicable to this\ncontainer type?\n3. Is a container manufacturer's decision to apply the letters ({NRC\" onto a shipping container based on\nspecific qualifying criteria that is defined by DOT or any other regulatory agency?\n4. Does 49 CFR 173.28(e) give container manufacturers overriding discretion to determine whether or\nnot a drum can be reused mUltiple times for shipments of hazardous material regardless of whether\nor not a container is appropriate for reuse by all other standards?\n5. Can a container manufacturer grant written approval for ongoing container reuse to a specific\ncontainer user which overrides a permanent {{NRC\" indication on a container that they\nmanufactu re?\nThank you for your attention in this matter. I anxiously await your response.\nSincerely,\n~re;L\nThomas Goss\nRecycling Strategist\n611nnerbelt Road, Somerville, MA 02143\n617.715.9025 (office)\n617.839.9480 (cell)\n781.710.3900 (fax)","truncated":false,"body_characters":8811}