{"operation":"document","citation":"12-0238","title":"Wers Professional Services — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2013-02-20","effective_on":null,"summary":"12-0238 response to Wers Professional Services concerning 173.150, 173.22.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-12-0238.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-12-0238.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-12-0238","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2013/120238.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nFEB 2 0 2013\nMr. Kevin Skerrett\nWers Professional Services\n77 Clearbrook Drive\nRochester, New York 14609\nRef. No. 12-0238\nDear Mr. Skerrett:\nThis responds to your October 22, 2012 request for clarification on§ 173.150(e), on aqueous\nsolutions of alcohol exception, in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR 171-\n180). In clarification letter Ref. No. 12-0029, PHMSA stated its' opinion that a product\nwhich contains 24% or less alcohol by volume and contains no less than 50% water, as well\nas less than 3% of ammonium hydroxide solution as a PH balancer was not eligible for the\nexception provided in § 173 .150( e) because the solution contains other hazardous material\n(i.e. ammonium hydroxide). Specifically, you request additional clarification on this\nexception, especially the definition of a hazardous material as used in clarification letter Ref.\nNo. 12-0029.\nIn regard to letter Ref. No. 12-0029, the incoming request indicated that the ammonium\nhydroxide ingredient is a Class 8 corrosive liquid. The term \"hazardous material\" is defined\nin§ 171.8 as follows:\n\"a substance or materialthat the Secretary of Transportation has determined is\ncapable of posing an umeasonable risk to health, safety, and property when\ntransported in commerce, and has designated as hazardous under section 51 03 of\nFederal hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5103). The term includes\nhazardous substances, hazardous wastes, marine pollutants, elevated temperature\nmaterials, materials designated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table (see\n49 CFR 172.101 ), and materials that meet the defining criteria for hazard classes and\ndivisions in part 1 73 of this subchapter.\"\nRegarding your mixture, if your material contains an ingredient, i.e., ammonium hydroxide,\nthat meets the definition of a hazardous material as stated above, and the defining criteria for\nhazard classes and divisions in part 173 of the HMR, the exception in § 173 .150( e) does not\napply as stated in letter Ref. No. 12-0029.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nSection 173.22 of the HMR states that a shipper is required to properly class and describe a\nhazardous material in accordance with Parts 1 72 and 173 of the HMR. We do not perform\nthis function. If you can establish the PH balancer used in your solution does not meet the\ndefinition of a hazardous material then it is eligible for the exception in§ 173 .150( e).\nI hope this answers your inquiry. If you need additional assistance, please contact this office\nat 202-366-8553.\nSincerely,\nRobert Benedict\nChief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n~e\n~ l/3./5 o(_ej\n5> Ill· 8 .\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) From:\nSent:\nTo:\nSubject: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nTuesday, October 23, 2012 10:07 AM\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFW: Questions about alcohol exception and interpretation 12-0029- request for formal letter of\ninterpretation\nHi Carolyn,\nThanks,\nVictoria\nWe received the following request for a formal letter of interpretation.\nFrom: Kevin Skerrett [mailto:kevins@thewercs.com]\nSent: Monday, October 22, 2012 5:02PM\nTo: PHMSA HM InfoCenter\nSubject: FW: Questions about alcohol exception and interpretation 12-0029- request for formal letter of interpretation\nIt was with great interest that I read your interpretation 12-0029- Mr. Tim Jamison's request concerning application of\nthe alcohol exception at 49CFR 173.1SO(e) to a product containing 3% ammonium hydroxide in addition to aqueous\nalcohol.\nSince I am concerned about the implications to my product review process, I would like additional clarification to the\napplication of the definition of \"hazardous material\".\nI find Mr. Jamison's request at\nhttp://www.phmsa.dot.gov/portal/site/PHMSA/menuitem.ebdc7a8a7e39f2e55cf2031050248a0c/?vgnextoid=1d2abed7e\n28a6310VgnVCM1000001ecb7898RCRD\nThe definition of \"hazardous material\" at 171.8 is:\nHazardous material means a substance or material that the Secretary of Transportation has determined is capable\nof posing an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, and has designated\nas hazardous under section 5103 of Federal hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5103). The term\nincludes hazardous substances, hazardous wastes, marine pollutants, elevated temperature materials, materials\ndesignated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table (see 49 CFR 172.101), and materials that meet the\ndefining criteria for hazard classes and divisions in part 173 of this subchapter.\nI believe the ammonia in this product has several opportunities for the ammonia to affect this exception, but I would like\nto ensure I know exactly which one(s) you are applying to rule out the alcohol exception, so I can make sure my review\nprocess is complete.\nTo contain a \"hazardous material\" other than aqueous alcohol, it must contain a material meeting one of the definitions\nof \"hazardous material\" above.\n1) Hazardous substances\na. The definition in 171.8 includes 3 parts:\ni. Ammonium hydroxide (the form ammonia takes in water) ].?.listed on the Hazardous\nSubstance list (49CFR 172.101 Appendix A Table 1}, with an RQ of 1000 lb (454 kg).\nii. Mr. Jamison's product, at 3% ammonium hydroxide, does exceed the 2% limit in the table in\n171.8 \"hazardous substance\" (3)(ii). A product containing 1% would not. Would that make a\ndifference to the alcohol exception?\niii. If packaged so that a single package does not exceed the RQ, per 171.8 \"hazardous\nsubstance\" (2), the material would NOT be a \"hazardous substance\". Assuming Mr. Jamison's\nproduct met this, that the 3% ammonium hydroxide did not exceed 1000 lbs in a single container,\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n2) 3) 4) 5) 6) is it accurate to claim that his product does not \"contain a hazardous substance\" for application of\nthe alcohol exception?\nb. All three parts are joined by \"and\" making them together the definition of a 11hazardous substance\". Is\nthat understanding correct for application of the alcohol exception?\nHazardous Waste- RCRA includes the \"alcohol exception\" in its definition of ignitability, but does not include\nreference to \"other hazardous material\"- so when shipped as a waste, this product would not carry 0001 per\n40CFR 261.21(a)(1).\na. If any other waste code applied, when shipped as a waste, this product would be at least Class 3- not\neligible for the HMR alcohol exception because it contains a \"hazardous waste\".\nb. If no other waste code applied, when shipped as a waste, this product's transportation classification\nwould depend on the rest of this process, since it would not be a RCRA \"hazardous waste\".\nMarine Pollutant- ammonium hydroxide is not a DOT marine pollutant, but for the sake of a complete review\nprocess:\na. Marine pollutant is defined in 49CFR 171.8 as \"a material which is listed in appendix B to § 172.101 of this\nsubchapter (also see§ 171.4) and, when in a solution or mixture of one or more marine pollutants, is\npackaged in a concentration which equals or exceeds:\ni. Ten percent by weight of the solution or mixture for materials listed in the appendix; or\nii. One percent by weight of the solution or mixture for materials that are identified as severe\nmarine pollutants in the appendix.\nb. 171.4 is an exception from the handling of a material as a Marine Pollutant, not the classification as a\nMarine Pollutant. So regardless of whether 171.4 applies, classification as a Marine Pollutant precludes\nallowing the alcohol exception- it remains Class 3. Is that correct?\nc. In a mixture containing a Marine Pollutant, would the 10%/1% criteria would be considered in\ndetermining whether the alcohol exception could be applied?\nElevated Temperature- A material meeting either ofthe first two criteria in 171.8 Elevated Temperature is\nprecluded from taking the alcohol exception.\nMaterials designated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table (see 49 CFR 172.101):\na. The 49CFR 172.101 table lists \"ammonium hydroxide solutions\" in 41istings for \"ammonia solutions\", the\nleast concentrated being UN2672, described as \"Ammonia solution, relative density between 0.880 and\n0.957 at 15 degrees C in water, with more than 10 percent but not more than 35 percent ammonia\".\nb. If the product does NOT exceed 10% ammonium hydroxide, can it be claimed that the product does not\ncontain a material\"designated as hazardous in the Hazardous Materials Table\", other than the aqueous\nalcohol?\nc. \"Anhydrous ammonia\" is listed in the table, but does not exist in an aqueous solution.\nMaterials that meet the defining criteria for hazard classes and divisions in part 173 of this subchapter:\nf:t· If it can be established that the product does not rise to 8/111 criteria as designated in 49CFR 173.137(c),\nby either the skin or either metal criteria, can it be claimed that the product does not contain \"materials\nthat meet the definin&,.criteria for hazard classes and divisions in part 173 of this subchapter\", other than\nthe aqueous alcohol? J\nPlease identify which (one or more) of the above criteria Mr. Jamison's product fails for the alcohol exception, so I can\nensure my review process correctly manages the difference between the alcohol exception and the definitions supplied in\nthe HMR.\nIf, in the case of item 5, the determination depends on the concentration of the material added in creating the product,\nplease indicate that. This would be a very difficult aspect for me to determine in my review process, since I have available\nthe product formulation (as shipped), physical property data, and some additional product information, but I do not have\nthe method by which the product is formulated. There is no way I could tell if concentrated ammonia was added to a\ndilute alcohol solution, or if concentrated alcohol was added to a dilute ammonia solution- the properties of the material\nas shipped in transport would be the same in both cases. I would need access to information that would be extremely\ndifficult to obtain for a reshipment or reverse logistics compliance application.\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nI realize this is complicated, but since compliance is involved, I would appreciate a response as soon as possible, so I can\nadjust my process if necessary.\nThank you for your consideration of this issue.\nKevin Skerrett, Senior Regulatory Specialist\nWPS\n77 Clearbrook Drive\nRochester NY, 14609\nCell: 518-229-7302\nkevins@thewercs.com\nwww. wercsprofessionalservices.com\nImportant Notice: This e-mail and any files transmitted with it are the property of The WERCS, Ltd. and/or its affiliates, including WERCS Professional Services,\nLLC All rights, including without limitation copyright, are reserved. The proprietary information contained in this e-mail message, and any fifes transmitted with it, is\nintended for the use of the recipient(s) named above. If the reader of this e-mail is not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this e-\nmail in error and that any review, distribution or copying of this e-mail or any files transmitted with it is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error,\nplease notify the sender immediately and delete the original message and any files transmitted. The unauthorized use of this e-mail or any files transmitted with it is\nprohibited and disclaimed by The WERCS, Ltd. and/or its affiliates, including WERCS Professional Services, LLC\n3","truncated":false,"body_characters":11486}