{"operation":"document","citation":"12-0067","title":"Bechtel Corporation — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2012-07-19","effective_on":null,"summary":"12-0067 response to Bechtel Corporation concerning 171.8, 172.702.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-12-0067.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-12-0067.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-12-0067","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretations/2012/120067.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue SE\nWashmgton. DC 20590\nJUL 1 9 2012\nMs. Yuliana S. Wu\nBechtel Corporation\n3000 Post Oak Blvd.\nHouston, TX 77056\nRef. No.: 12-0067\nDearMs. Wu:\nThis responds to your e-mail dated February 29, 2012, requesting clarification of the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the\ndefinitions of a \"hazmat employer\" and \"hazmat employee\" as well as the associated\ntraining of a \"hazmat employee.\"\nIn your email you describe a scenario in which all the materials and equipment sourced and\ntransported to your company's construction projects are purchased from suppliers who\npack and ship materials and equipment from their facilities. The materials and equipment,\nwhich may include hazardous materials as defined by the HMR, are never handled by your\ncompany's traffic and logistics persmmel. Furthermore, your company's traffic and\nlogistic personnel do not prepare any shipping documents for these shipments. However;\nyour company's traffic and logistics personnel are responsible for coordinating the\nmovement with suppliers, export packers, freight forwarders, or air or ocean carriers.\nBased on this scenario, you ask if your company is considered a \"hazmat employer\" and if\nyour company's traffic and logistics employees are considered \"hazmat employees,\" and\ntherefore required to be trained under the HMR.\nAs defined in§ 171.8, a \"hazmat employee\" is any person who is employed in a full-time,\npart-time, or temporary basis by a hazmat employer and who in the course of employment\ndirectly affects hazardous materials transportation safety. Section 171.8 also defines a\n\"hazmat employer\" to mean a person who employs or uses at least one hazmat employee\non a full-time, part time, or temporary basis, and who: (1) transports hazardous materials in\ncommerce; (2) causes hazardous materials to be transported in commerce; or (3) designs,\nmanufactures, fabricates, inspects, marks, maintains, reconditions, repairs or tests a\npackage, container, or packaging component that is represented, marked, certified, or sold\nby that person as qualified for use in transporting hazardous materials in commerce. (See\n§ 171.8 for the complete definitions of \"hazmat employee\" and \"hazmat employer.\") As\nspecified in § 172.702, a hazmat employer must ensure that each of its hazmat employees\nis trained in accordance with the requirements in Subpart H of Part 172.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nBased on the information provided in your letter, it does not appear that your company's\ntraffic and logistics personnel \"directly affect hazardous materials transportation safety.\"\nTherefore, your company's traffic and logistics employees would not be considered hazmat\nemployees and would not be subject to the training requirements in Subpart H of Part 172.\nIn addition, based strictly on the limited business functions you described in your letter,\nyour company would not be considered a hazmat employer.\nI hope this answers your inquiry. If we can be of further assistance, please contact us at\n(202) 366-8553.\nSincerely,\nR ::;#<--\nBen Supko\nSenior Regulations Officer\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFrom: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nSent:\nTo:\nSubject: Thursday, March 01,2012 7:58AM\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFW: Request a letter interpretation\nHi Carolyn,\nWe received the following request for a letter of interpretation.\nThanks,\nVictoria\nVictoria Lehman\nHazmat Information Center (HMIC)\nhttp://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/info-center\n(202) 366-1035\nFrom: Wu, Yuliana [mailto:yswu@bechtel.com]\nSent: Wednesday, February 29, 2012 9:08AM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nCc: Mottola, Dennis\nSubject: Request a letter interpretation\nMr. Charles E. Betts\nDirector, Standards and Rulemaking Division\nU.S. DOT/PHMSA (PHH-10)\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE East Building, 2nd Floor\nWashington, DC 20590\nDear Mr. Betts,\nWe hereby respectfully request a letter of interpretation as to the applicability of 'Hazmat Employer' and 'Hazmat\nEmployees' for Bechtel Corporation and our Traffic & Logistics employees. We've completed preliminary phone·\ndiscussions with representatives of the Hazardous Materials Information Center (HMIC) on this subject. We now seek\nyour written determination to confirm our preliminary discussions with HMIC representatives and our own self\ndetermination. Based on our phone discussions with HMIC representatives and our review of Title 49 CFR 171.8 the\nregulations as cited below, we do not believe these definitions apply to Bechtel and our employees. However, we do\nstrongly encourage our Traffic & Logistics personnel to pursue Hazmat regulations training to increase their subject\nmatter awareness and for further career development.\nBechtel is an Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) company. The following link describes our business more\nthoroughly should you be interested in reviewing. http://www.bechtel.com/overview.html We do not manufacture\nproducts of any type. All of the materials and equipment sourced and transported to our construction projects are\npurchased from suppliers who pack and ship materials and equipment from their facilities to a Bechtel designated\ndestination. The destination could be a project jobsite, some interim destination such as an export packing facility or\nfreight forwarder's warehouse for consolidation, or direct to a port or airport. The materials and equipment are never\nhandled or documented for transport by Bechtel Traffic & Logistics personnel. Those responsibilities remain with the\nmaterial/equipment supplier, export packer, freight forwarder or air or ocean carrier. By standard process our\nmaterial/equipment suppliers are required to provide an MSDS form for any type of hazardous materials that will be\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\ntransported. Our Traffic & Logistics personnel are responsible for coordinating the movement with one of these entities\nby simply providing consignment or carrier routing instructions.\nWe would appreciate your earliest review and response to this request. Please contact the undersigned should you\nrequire further information for your review. Thank you in advance for your assistance.\nHazmat employee means:\n(1) A person who is:\n(i) Employed on a full-time, part time, or temporary basis by a hazmat employer and who in the course of such full time, part\ntime or temporary employment directly affects hazardous materials transportation safety;\n(ii) Self-employed (including an owner-operator of a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft) transporting hazardous materials in\ncommerce who in the course of such self-employment directly affects hazardous materials transportation safety;\n(iii) A railroad signalman; or\n(iv) A railroad maintenance-of-way employee.\n(2) This term includes an individual, employed on a full time, part time, or temporary basis by a hazmat employer, or who is self-\nemployed, who during the course of employment:\n(i) Loads, unloads, or handles hazardous materials;\n(ii) Designs, manufactures, fabricates, inspects, marks, maintains, reconditions, repairs, or tests a package, container or\npackaging component that is represented, marked, certified, or sold as qualified for use in transporting hazardous material in\ncommerce.\n(iii) Prepares hazardous materials for transportation;\n(iv) Is responsible for safety of transporting hazardous materials;\n(v) Operates a vehicle used to transport hazardous materials.\nHazmat employer means:\n(1) A person who employs or uses at least one hazmat employee on a full-time, part time, or temporary basis; and who:\n(i) Transports hazardous materials in commerce;\n(ii) Causes hazardous materials to be transported in commerce; or\n(iii) Designs, manufactures, fabricates, inspects, marks, maintains, reconditions, repairs or tests a package, container, or\npackaging component that is represented, marked, certified, or sold by that person as qualified for use in transporting\nhazardous materials in commerce;\n(2) A person who is self-employed (including an owner-operator of a motor vehicle, vessel, or aircraft) transporting materials in\ncommerce; and who:\n(i) Transports hazardous materials in commerce;\n(ii) Causes hazardous materials to be transported in commerce; or\n(iii) Designs, manufactures, fabricates, inspects, marks, maintains, reconditions, repairs or tests a package, container, or\npackaging component that is represented, marked, certified, or sold by that person as qualified for use in transporting\nhazardous materials in commerce; or\n(3) A department, agency, or instrumentality of the United States Government, or an authority of a State, political subdivision of a State,\nor an Indian tribe; and who:\n(i) Transports hazardous materials in commerce;\n(ii) Causes hazardous materials to be transported in commerce; or\n(iii) Designs, manufactures, fabricates, inspects, marks, maintains, reconditions, repairs or tests a package, container, or\npackaging component that is represented, marked, certified, or sold by that person as qualified for use in transporting\nhazardous materials in commerce.\nPerson means an individual, corporation, company, association, firm, partnership, society, joint stock company; or a government,\nIndian Tribe, or authority of a government or Tribe, that offers a hazardous material for transportation in commerce, transports a\nhazardous material to support a commercial enterprise, or designs, manufactures, fabricates, inspects, marks, maintains, reconditions,\nrepairs, or tests a package, container, or packaging component that is represented, marked, certified, or sold as qualified for use in\ntransporting hazardous material in commerce. This term does not include the United States Postal Service or, for purposes of 49 U.S. C.\n5123 and 5124, a Department, agency, or instrumentality of the government.\nPerson who offers or offeror means:\n( 1) Any person who does either or both of the following:\n(i) Performs, or is responsible for performing, any pre-transportation function required under this subchapter for transportation\nof the hazardous material in commerce.\n(ii) Tenders or makes the hazardous material available to a carrier for transportation in commerce.\n(2) A carrier is not an offeror when it performs a function required by this subchapter as a condition of acceptance of a hazardous\nmaterial for transportation in commerce (e.g. , reviewing shipping papers, examining packages to ensure that they are in conformance\nwith this subchapter, or preparing shipping documentation for its own use) or when it transfers a hazardous material to another carrier\nfor continued transportation in commerce without performing a pre-transportation function.\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nSincerely,\nYuliana S. Wu\nCorporate Traffic & Logistics Supervisor\nBechtel Corporation\ntel: (713) 235-3669 fax: (713) 235-1614\n3","truncated":false,"body_characters":10862}