# Delta Air Lines, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** 11-0110
- **title:** Delta Air Lines, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation
- **source type:** guidance
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** guidance
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2011-06-22
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** 11-0110 response to Delta Air Lines, Inc. concerning 173.185, 175.30.
- **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0110.json
- **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0110.md
- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0110
- **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110110.pdf
**body:**

<<<PAGE 1>>>

U.S. Department 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
of Transportation Washington. DC 20590
Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety
Administration JUN 2 2 2011
Mr. Rick Blenkush
Manager, Corporate Dangerous Goods
Delta Air Lines, Inc.
1020 Delta Blvd Dept 043
Atlanta, Georgia 30320-6001
Ref. No. 11-0110
Dear Mr. Blenkush:
This responds to your letter requesting clarification of the air shipment inspection
requirements under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180).
Specifically, you ask whether an air carrier, as specified in § 175.30, is obligated to inspect
individual packages of hazardous materials conditionally excepted from any other
requirements ofthe subchapter that are placed in a unit load device loaded by the shipper
and offered to an air carrier for transportation. In your letter, you cite as an example the
§ 172.1 02( c)( 1) Special provision 188, which excepts packages of small lithium cells and
batteries from any other requirements of the subchapter if certain conditions are met. Our
response assumes all applicable conditions have been met.
The answer is no. An air carrier is not obligated to inspect individual packages of
hazardous materials conditionally excepted from the HMR that are placed in a unit load
device loaded by the shipper and offered to an air carrier for transportation. Under
§ 175.30(b), an air carrier's responsibility in the scenario you describe would be to inspect
the unit load device itself and not the contents contained therein, provided the shipper has
produced any documentation required by Special provision 188, if applicable, and the unit
load device is otherwise in an airworthy condition.
I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division

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Delta Air Lines, Inc.
1020 Delta Blvd Dept 043
Atlanta, Georgia 30320-6001
June 1. 2011
Magdy EI-Sibaie, PhD
Associate Administrator, Hazardous Materials Safety
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
US Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave., SE
East Bldg. Second Floor
Washington, DC 20590-0001
SUBJECT: Request for Interpretation
Dear Dr. EI-Sibaie:
The purpose of this letter is to seek clarification on the interpretation of 49CFR 175.30 and its relationship
to Special Provision 1 as.
Multiple places in 49CFR the statement" ... are not subject to any other requirements of this subchapter if
they meet the following:". What follows this statement is usually the provisions for emergency reporting,
packaging requirements and shipping paper entries. The question posed is; if not specifically listed in the
requirements that follow the above statement, is the carrier for an air shipment required to comply with all
aspects of 49CFR 175.30, Inspecting Shipments? If the carrier is able to verify all the carrier's
responsibilities of the requirements listed after "are not subject to any other requirements", then does the
shipment need to be inspected per 175.30?
As an example, this statement is used in 49CFR 172.102. Special Provision 1 aa. For shipper-prepared
unit load devices that the shipper states are in compliance with the requirements listed in SP 188. is an
air carrier allowed to transport these shipper prepared unit load devices without inspecting the packages
in the shipper unit load device containing the lithium batteries in or with equipment? The unit load device
itself would be inspected per 49CFR 175.30, but the individual packages inside of the unit load device
would not be inspected per this regulation.
We appreciate your assistance with this interpretation. If you have any additional questions or comments,
then please contact me at 404-714-5634.
Sincerely,
~
Rick Blenkush
Manager - Corporate Dangerous Goods
cc: Helen Howes. Managing Director - Safety, Health and Environment
Brad Matheny, Manager - Cargo Field Support
Jon-Peter Kelly, Senior Attorney - Law Department
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