Greif, Inc., Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services, North America — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Washington. DC 20590 JUL 1 8 2012 Jordan J. Brodsky Director of Product Technical and Regulatory Support Greif, Inc. Rigid Industrial Packaging & Services, North America 366 GreifParkway Delaware, OH 43015 Ref. No. 12-0120 Dear Mr. Brodsky: This responds to your letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the testing of non-bulk packagings. In your letter, you interpret a pass/fail criterion at§ 178.606(d) that would allow a drum successfully withstanding the stacking test to then be leakproofness tested in accordance with § 178.604. You ask whether the steel drum test samples used for the stacking test as prescribed in § 178.606 may also be used for the leakproofness test as prescribed in § 178.604. The answer is no. However, in accordance with§ 178.601(k), several tests may be performed on a single sample with the approval of the Associate Administrator and provided the validity of the test results is not affected. You may apply for approval to perform several tests on a single sample under the procedures specified in 49 CFR § 107.705. I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us ifwe can be of further assistance. Sincerely, T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division#

Page 2lF May 10,2012 Charles Betts Director, Standards and Rulemaking U.S. Department ofTransportation Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administratiqn 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590-0001 Email: infocntr@dot.gov Dear Mr. Betts; Greif requests a Letter of Interpretation regarding steel drums used for Stacking tests and Leakproofness tests. The regulations in 49CFR§178.60l(k)(l)(i) identify the tests to be performed. (i) The packagir.g must be tested in accordance with this subpart by subjecting each of the three . containers to the following sequence of tests: 178.60 I (k)(l )(i)(A) (A) Th(: stacking test in § 178.606, 178.60 • (k)(l)(i)(B) (B) Tt.: leakproofness test in § 178.604, 178.6( l(k)(l)(i)(C) (C) Tr c hydrostatic pressure test in § 178.608, and 178.6C • (k)(1)(i)(D) (D) Di~ gonal top chime and flat on the side drop tests in § 178.603. Both drop tests may be conduc ed on the same sample. In the specific :,·~ctions on testing requirements for the two tests in question(§ 178.604 Leakproofuess test and § 178.6· · 6 Stacking test), the regulations are silent regarding the use of passed Stacking test drums in the Lt, lkproofness test. The criteria for :1assing the Stacking test clearly outline the physical condition of passed drums. The regulations n 49CFR § 178.606( d) state:#

Page 3\. (d) C~ite~a for passi?g the test. No test sample may leak. In composite packagings or combmatiOn ~ackagmgs, ~ere must be no leakage of the filling substance from the inner ..ceceptacle, or mner packagmg. No test sample may show any deterioration which could · adversely affect transportation safety or any distortion likely to reduce its strength, cause instability in stacks of packages, or cause damage to inner packagings likely to reduce safety in transportation. For the dynamic compression test, a container passes the test if, after application of the required load, there is no buckling of the sidewalls sufficient to caus~ damage to its expected contents; in no case may the maximum deflection exceed one inch. Greif interprets the regulations that we should be able to use those same Stacking test drums for our Leakproofness tests, as long as the drums used in the Stacking test have passed successfully against these criteria. Greif requests a formal letter of interpretation of Greif's position on the above regulations. Thank you for your time and your consideration. Jordan J. Brodsky Director of Product Technical and Regulatory Support Greif, Inc. jordan.brodsky@greif.com • Page2#