Steris — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington. DC 20590 AUS 0 7 2012 Kevin Corson Global, DOT Hazardous Materials Compliance Manager Steris 5960 Heisley Road Mentor, OH 44060 Reference No.: 12-0113 Dear Mr. Corson: This responds to your May 11, 2012letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the closure requirements for limited quantity air shipments. You state that in the 2011-2012 International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Technical Instructions (TI), packing instruction Y963 describes the closure instructions for ID8000 consumer commodities in paragraph (d) as, "Stoppers, corks, or other friction type closures." You note that in a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) published in the Federal Register on May 14, 2010 [75 FR 27273] entitled "Hazardous Materials: Packages Intended for Transport by Air" under Docket Number PHMSA-2007-29364 (HM-231A), the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration (PHMSA) proposed to amend § 173 .27( d) to require that all friction and screw type closures be secured by secondary means. In the HM-231A Final Rule published on April16, 2012 [77 FR 22504], PHMSA adopted regulatory language in § 173.27( d) which states "Inner packaging or receptacle closures of combination packages containing liquids must be held securely, tightly, and effectively in place by secondary means." You add that§ 173.167 implies that consumer commodities with friction type closures must be secured by secondary means when shipped by air. You ask if it is the intention of PHMSA to require consumer commodities containing liquids with screw type closures to have secondary means of closure when shipped by air. Additionally, you ask if it is PHMSA's intention to define screw type closures as a friction type closure, which will clarify the closure requirements written in Y963 and§ 173.167. The answer to both questions is no. For packages other than those shipped as consumer commodities under§ 173.167, PHMSA amended the HMR to require closures of inner packagings containing liquids within a combination packaging intended for transportation by aircraft to be secured by a secondary means or, where a secondary closure cannot be applied or it is impracticable to apply, permit the use of a leakproof liner. These amendments are consistent with the 2011-2012 editions of the ICAO Tl. In an NPRM published in the Federal Register on May 25,2012 [77 FR 32174] entitled "Hazardous Materials: Harmonization With the United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of#

Page 2Dangerous Goods Model Regulations, International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code, and the International Civil Aviation Organization Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air," under Docket Number PHMSA-2009-0126 (HM-215K), PHMSA proposed language in§ 173.167(a)(2) to clarify that only friction type closures must be closed by secondary means. I hope this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, ~A// ~-7---------· t:?Y:~/}1_/ ~~ T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division#

Page 3ST E Rl S® May 11,2012 Mr. Charles Betts Director, Standards and Rulemaking Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration U.S. Department of Transportation -PHH-10 nd 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE -East Bldg, 2 Washington, DC 20590 Floor AnJraus "Z; 118. :2.1 (_dJ fa/13· lh 7 tHrorafr tz .. 0/13 Re: Defining closure requirements for limited quantity air shipments Dear Mr. Betts: The 2011-2012 ICAO Tl, packing instruction Y963 describes a closure for ID8000 Consumer commodity in paragraph d) as, "Stoppers, corks, or other such friction-type closures". In the April 16, 2012, Federal Register, PHMSA published the final rule, HM-231A, where in section II Background, subsection B, Summary of Proposals in NPRM, the 2nd sentence reads, "We proposed to amend 173.27(d) by requiring that all friction and screw type closures must be secured by a secondary means." On May 16, 2012, the newly written regulation will publish in 49CFR 173.27(d)to read, "Inner packaging or receptacle closures of combination packages containing liquids must be held securely, tightly and effectively in place by secondary means." Additional reading on the subject of closures is found in 173.167, where Consumer commodities with "Friction-type closures must be secured by secondary means." I find clarity in the writing of the new 173.27 and believe that all fully regulated liquid shipments in air transport must have secondary closures. Is it then the intention of PHMSA to require Consumer commodities containing liquids with screw type closures to have a secondary means of closure? As well, is it PHMSA's intention to define screw type closures as a friction type closure, which will clarify the closure requirements written of in Y963 and 173.167? Regards, Kevin Corson Global, DOT Hazardous Materials Compliance Manager STERIS Corporation • 5960 Heisley Road • Mentor OH 44060 • USA· 800.548.4873 • www.steris.com#