{"operation":"document","citation":"11-0189R","title":"Mr. W. Eugene Sanders III — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2012-04-02","effective_on":null,"summary":"11-0189R response to Mr. W. Eugene Sanders III concerning 172.200.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0189r.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0189r.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-11-0189r","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2011/110189R.pdf","body":"<<>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nAPR o 2 2012\nMr. W. Eugene Sanders III\nManager\nW.E. Train Consulting\n8710 W. Hillsborough Avenue# 112\nTampa, FL 33615\nReference No.: ll-0189R\nDear Mr. Sanders:\nThis is a revised response to your August 15, 2011letter requesting clarification of the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CPR Parts 171-180) as they pertain to\nUN 1044, Fire Extinguishers. Specifically, you asked if highway or rail shipments of fire\nextinguishers conforming to the requirements of§ 173.309(a) meet the definition of limited\nquantity in § 171.8. Further you asked whether such shipments are permitted to be marked\nwith the limited quantity marking in accordance with§ 172.315(a) and are eligible for the\nexception to the shipping paper requirement provided in § 172.200(b )(3).\nIn order to qualify under the limited quantity provision, a fire extinguisher must meet the\nrequirements contained in§ 173.309(a). If the container is packaged and offered for\ntransportation in accordance with§ 173.309(a) the limited quantity provision applies. For\ndomestic transportation, as defined by § 171.8, by highway or rail, such limited quantity\nshipments of fire extinguishers are permitted to be marked with the limited quantity marking\nin accordance with § 172.315(a).\nHowever, such shipments of fire extinguishers are not excepted from the shipping paper\nrequirement. The shipping paper requirements specified in§ 173.309(a) take precedence\nover the shipping paper exception for limited quantity packages in § 172.200(b )(3). My\nprevious response indicated that these shipments are excepted from the shipping paper\nrequirement, which is not correct.\nI apologize for any confusion my earlier response may have caused, and hope this matter is\nnow resolved. Pease contact us if we can be of further assistance.\n~11#r.~ .\nDelmer Billin:f;!o\nSenior Regulatory Advisor\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<>>\n\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFrom:\nSent:\nTo:\nSubject:\nSupko, Ben (PHMSA)\nThursday, February 16, 2012 8:26AM\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFW: Formal interpretation request for 173.309\nP.re p-h~ui5hers\n1 I- D I>>\n\nShortly after, we discovered another letter of interpretation (11-e189, also dated November\n21, 2e11) which confirmed that fire extinguishers are eligible for the limited quantity\nexception but differed in stating that shipping papers are not required for transportation by\nhighway and rail under 172.2ee(b)(3) if the packages were marked in accordance with\n172.315(a).\nThe letter of interpretation that I received specifically addressed this question of\nprecedence as follows:\n\"A2. Yes. The shipping paper requirements specified in § 173.3e9(a) take precedence over the\nshipping paper exception for limited quantity packages in§ 172.2ee(b)(3).\"\n(We believe that the marking of packages in accordance with 172.315(a) is assumed in either\ncase.)\nAs the result of the interpretation that was addressed to me we are compelled to attach\nshipping papers to packages containing fire extinguishers. Other shippers, we are finding\nout, are not attaching shipping papers based on, we assume, the other letter of\ninterpretation. This results in confusion, additional work for our employees, competition\nnot following the same rules, and the potential violations of the HMR.\nWe were told through a third party that additional rulemaking would be issued by the end of\n2e11. Final Rule 76 FR 82163 (dated December 3e, 2e11) does address issues related to the\nlimited quantity marking of packages in accordance with 172.315(a), but does not address any\nissues with fire extinguishers or 173.3e9.\nCan you advise us which interpretation we should follow regarding shipping papers?\nAlso) are there any changes currently in the rulemaking process related to this topic or to\nfire extinguishers?\nOne final thought (and I am sorry for the lengthy email). We received notice on a seminar\nthat will be presented February 25th at the Florida State Fire College in Ocala, Florida.\nMr. Stuart Streck, DOT HMSAT Transportation Specialist, will be speaking on the topic of \"DOT\nrequirements for fire equipment professionals\". I don't know if this issue will come up\nthere, but my concern is that the message may differ from what we received in the letter of\ninterpretation. The attendees at this seminar will include many of our Florida customers. I\nonly seek a uniform interpretation of the regulations in this matter. Any insight that you\nhave will be appreciated.\nAs always, I appreciate you help with my questions.\nRegards,\nChuck Kimball\n-----Original Message-----\nFrom: lisa.winter@dot.gov [mailto:lisa.winter@dot.gov]\nSent: Friday, September e2, 2e11 1e:4e AM\nTo: Chuck Kimball\nSubject: RE: Formal interpretation request for 173.3e9\nDear Mr. Kimball:\nI am well. I hope you are too.\nWith respect to the turn-around on a request for written interpretation, it really depends on\na variety of factors. Unfortunately, with your request, it is somewhat complicated and will\n2\n\n<<>>\n\nrequire many levels of review. We try to reply as quickly as possible, usually within 6\nweeks of the request, but sometimes because of the number of people who must review letter,\nit takes longer.\nThis might not be the answer that you are looking for, but I hope it helps.\nLisa\nLisa (Winter) O'Donnell\nTransportation Regulations Specialist\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration United States Department of\nTransportation\n2e2.366.6415 http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat\nFrom: Chuck Kimball [mailto:CKimball@BHCISS.com]\nSent: Thu 9/1/2eli 4:16 PM\nTo: Winter, Lisa (PHMSA)\nSubject: RE: Formal interpretation request for 173.3e9\nHi Ms. O'Donnell,\nI hope you are doing well!\nI know that getting an interpretation may take some time, but was just curious if it could be\ndetermined how long it might take. I did not know if it is a \"first-in, first-out\" process\nor if they are all looked at monthly, or some other procedure. Is there any way to track the\nprogress?\nAlso, I noticed that my terminology was probably incorrect, but it appears that you knew what\nI meant. You said in your email below that you made a request for a \"letter of\ninterpretation\". If I now understand it correctly, a letter of interpretation is a less\nformal response than a formal interpretation (which seems to be a lengthier process). A\nletter of interpretation is what I should have asked for. Thank you for making that\ncorrection.\nAgain, thank you for all your help with this issue.\nRegards,\nChuck Kimball\n3\n\n<<>>\n\nFrom: lisa.winter@dot.gov [mailto:lisa.winter@dot.gov]\nSent: WednesdayJ August 17J 2811 12:35 PM\nTo: Chuck Kimball\nSubject: RE: Formal interpretation request for 173.389\nDear Mr. Kimball:\nI have forwarded your request for a letter of interpretation to the person responsible for\nassigning them. We clearly need some clarification on this issue.\nSincerelyJ\nLisa (Winter) O'Donnell\nTransportation Regulations Specialist\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nUnited States Department of Transportation\n282.366.6415\nhttp://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat \nFrom: Chuck Kimball [mailto:CKimball@BHCISS.com]\nSent: WednesdayJ August 17J 2811 18:48 AM\nTo: WinterJ Lisa (PHMSA)\nSubject: Formal interpretation request for 173.389\nGood morning Ms. O'DonnellJ\nReferencing our conversations regarding whether fire extinguishers meeting the requirements\nof 173.389(a) could be shipped as \"limited quantity\" and marked per section 172.315(a)J andJ\nshipped without shipping papers per 172.288(b)(3)J your response was that fire extinguishers\nwere not eligible for treatment as \"limited quantity\". Since our last conversation) it was\nbrought to our attention that there is an existing interpretation) 82-8149J which contains\nthese two questions and answers:\nQ. Can a hazardous material classified in accordance with § 172.181 Hazardous Material Table\nas \"Fire extinguisher) 2.2J UN1844\" be considered a limited quantity under the HMR and\ntherefore excepted from the emergency response telephone number requirement under § 172.684?\n4\n\n<<>>\n\nA. The requirements for shipping fire extinguishers are found in § 173.309(a). In order to\nqualify under the limited quantity provision, a fire extinguisher must fully meet the limited\nquantity requirements contained in § 173.389(a) through 173.309(a)(3)(iv). If the container\nis packaged and offered for transportation in accordance with § 173.389 (a) through\n173.309(a)(3)(iv) the limited quantity provision applies, and the package is excepted from\nthe emergency response telephone number requirement in § 172.604.\nQ. If a fire extinguisher is packaged and offered for transportation under the limited\nquantity provision in § 173.309 (a) must the description on the shipping paper include the\nwords \"Limited Quantity\" or \"Ltd Qty\" as specified in § 172.203(b)?\nA. Yes. Section 172.283(b) requires offerors of hazardous materials as limited quantities,\nincluding fire extinguishers, to include the words \"Limited Quantity'' or \"Ltd Qty\" following\nthe basic description on the shipping paper.\nThe first question addresses limited quantity in relation to the emergency response telephone\nnumber requirement and not the question of shipping papers. The second question is based\nupon the assumption that shipping papers are required, and addresses the inclusion of the\nwords \"Limited Quantity\" or \"Ltd Qty\" on those shipping papers.\nAs we initially discussed, section 173.309 does not except fire extinguishers from the\nshipping paper requirements found in 174.24 and 177.817 (for rail and highway, respectively).\nSo regardless of whether fire extinguishers are eligible for treatment as limited quantity,\nit seems that shipping papers are required. Since there appears to be some differing\ninterpretations on this topic, please consider this email as a request for a formal\ninterpretation with the questions below.\nQ1. Are fire extinguishers which meet the requirements of 173.309(a) eligible to be shipped\nas \"limited quantity\"?\nQ2. Does the specific reference in 173.309(a) to the shipping paper requirements 174.24 and\n177.817 take precedence over 172.200(b)(3) for shipments of fire extinguishers by highway or\nrail and therefore mean that shipping papers are required regardless of whether fire\nextinguishers are eligible to be shipped as ''limited quantity\"?\nThank you for your continuing help with this matter. We look forward to your earliest\nresponse.\nRegards,\nChuck Kimball\nDirector- of Engineering\n5\n\n<<>>\n\nIntegrated Support Services\n704-916-3445\nDear Mr. Kimball:\nIn discussing this issue further with my coworkers, we believe that the prov1s1ons in Section\n173.309 do not indicate that fire extinguishers are a limited quantity packaging. Rather, it\nsays \"Fire extinguishers charged with a limited quantity of compressed gas.\" The limited\nquantity exception for compressed gasses .is in Section 173.306. Section 173.306 is not an\nauthorized packaging exception for fire extinguishers in the Hazardous Materials Table,\ncolumn Sa. For this reason, shipping papers are required with shipments of fire\nextinguishers.\nI hope this helps.\nSincerely,\nLisa (Winter) O'Donnell\nTransportation Regulations Specialist\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administr.ation\nUnited States Department of Transportation\n202.366.6415\nhttp://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat \nFrom: Chuck Kimball [mailto:CKimball@BHCISS.com]\nSent: Friday, June 17, 2011 10:56 AM\nTo: Winter, Lisa (PHMSA)\nSubject: Guidance\nDear Ms. Winter,\nWe spoke previously about the new limited quantity marking (172.315) and the applicability to\nshipments of fire extinguishers under 173.309. Specifically, whether shipping papers were\n6\n\n<<>>\n\nrequired. At that time you indicated that there would be some issues addressed and that I\nshould monitor HM-215K for any corrections and changes. However, I have a follow-up question\nthat I would like to ask you on this matter. Could you call me at 704-916-3445 or provide a\ndirect phone number where I could reach you?\nThank you,\nChuck Kimball\nDirector of Engineering\nIntegrated Support Services\n704-916-3445\n7","truncated":false,"body_characters":13854}