Dysol & MagChem — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration OCT 0 1 2012 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Mr. Danny Gehlhausen Quality and Compliance Manager Dysol & MagChem 2901 Shamrock A venue Fort Worth, TX 76107 Ref. No.: 12-0179 Dear Mr. Gehlhausen: This responds to your initial August 13, 2012 email, and subsequent follow-up email correspondence on August 29,2012 with a member of my staff~ seeking clarification ofthe Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR: 49 CFR Pmis 171-180) relating to the packaging requirements for a material that you are classifying as "UN 1796, Nitrating acid mixtures," containing approximately 20 percent Nitric acid and 40 percent Sulfuric acid. Your questions are paraphrased and answered below. Ql. Does§ 173.158(a), which restricts Nitric acid exceeding 40 percent concentration from being packaged with any other material, infer that materials that contain less than 40 percent Nitric acid concentration do not have to comply with the packaging requirements listed in§ 173.158(b) through§ 173.158(h)? A 1. The answer is no. Nitric acid mixtures that contain less than 40 percent Nitric acid concentration must comply with the packaging requirements listed in § 173.158(b) through§ 173.158(h), as appropriate. Paragraph (a) of§ 173.158 is a specific requirement for Nitric acid exceeding 40 percent and does not provide any exception for materials that contain less than 40 percent Nitric acid concentration. Q2. Is § 173.1 58(f)(l) the correct paragraph to find the requirements for packaging containing "UN 1796, Nitrating acid mixtures'' with approximately 20 percent Nitric acid and 40 percent Sulfuric acid in 5-gallon packagings? A2. The answer is yes. Section 173.1 58(f)(l) authorizes Nitric acid of 70 percent or less concentration, when offered for transportation or transported by rail, highway, or water, to be packaged in composite packagings 6P A 1, 6P A2, 6PB 1, 6PB2, 6PC, 6PD 1, 6PH 1, or 6PH2, as well as 6HH 1 and 6HA 1 composite packaging with plastic inner receptacles meeting the compatibility requirements § 173 .24( e) (e.g .. PF A Tei1on). Section 173.158(t)(l) does not restrict the capacity ofthe packagings. It should be noted that § 173 .158(f)( 1) is not the only authorized packaging configuration for Nitric acid of 70 percent or less concentration. As specified in#

Page 2§§ 173.158(±)(2) and 173.158(±)(3,) other configurations of composite packagings are permitted provided the requirements of these sections are met and the required inner packagings do not exceed 2.5 Leach. I hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely, Robert Benedict Chief, Standards Development Standards and Rulemaking Division#

Page 3Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) From: Sent: To: Subject: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Tuesday, August 14, 2012 3:33PM Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) FW: Request for Formal Letter of Interpretation l1-DJ19 Carolyn, We received the following request for a formal letter of interpretation. Thanks, Victoria From: Danny Gehlhausen .,~.,'~'""·'"'''"''-''"""·'e' .. C,,i_:.:"~""~'-'"-·-'·:,;:cc"'-'-'''''"'-'""~- .. :.c.:,). Sent: Monday, August 13, 2012 10:41 AM To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Subject: Request for Formal Letter of Interpretation We !ike to an of instruction 1 Does this paragraph mean that materials that contain less than 40% Nitric Acid concentration and are not held to the requirements listed in 173.158(b) -173.158(h). Specifically we have a contains 20% Nitric Acid and 40% Acid. If we are to a 5-gallon container of this mixture would we have to use one of the packages listed in 173.158(f)(1) or does the fact that it contains less than 40% Nitric allow us to ship in other types of packaging such as plastic? S~~is-t in prOOucu fur .:.t:Ero~»t<:sutf~t:e tre~tment a:rtd ptt~f}t1\r~tion S~:.m'is~f:n prtJduif!.; dctraitetnent t't prt;?patt..tticmnit:£Utf-J$it'$d'<:~i£on 1#