3737 Miller Park Drive — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 M~R 2 5 Z013 Mr. Harold DePriest Bway Corporation 3 73 7 Miller Park Drive Garland, TX 75042 Ref. No.: 13-0030 Dear Mr. DePriest: This is in response to your January 25, 2013 email and conversation with a member of my staff requesting clarification of the performance-oriented packaging testing requirements in accordance with Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). You describe a scenario where you have two pails of the same diameter, but different heights that will be joined together for sales purposes via the use of plastic clips. You seek clarification regarding the testing and marking requirements for the joined unit. Specifically, you ask whether performance-oriented packaging testing is required on only the individual pails or on the entire joined unit. Section 178.601(a) states that the test procedures described in Subpart Mare intended to ensure that packages containing hazardous materials can withstand normal conditions of transportation and are considered minimum requirements. Each packaging must be manufactured and assembled so as to be capable of successfully passing the prescribed tests and of conforming to the requirements of § 173 .24 of this subchapter at all times while in transportation. Based on the scenario described, each design type (i.e. each pail) should be tested individually in accordance with Part 178, Subpart M. In addition, each packaging that is represented as manufactured to meet a UN standard must be marked as specified in § 178.503. I hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. 02 - - Delmer~~ Senior Regulato; ~Usor Standards and Rulemaking Division#

Page 2lAI , e VJe r"' § 179. boO Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) From: Sent: To: Subject: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Monday, January 28, 2013 12:53 PM Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) FW: request for formal letter of interpretation Hi Carolyn, We received the following request for a formal letter of interpretation. Thanks, Victoria From: Harold DePriest [mailto:Harold.Depriest@BWAYCorp.com] Sent: Friday, January 25, 2013 11:57 AM To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Subject: request for formal letter of interpretation I talked to Scott at the help desk today about an interpretation of 49CFR, paragraph 178.600 on testing for a new packaging. We have a customer who wants two individual pails of the same diameter, but different heights, joined together by plastic clips that makes it one sales unit. We asked how we would mark this packaging and how we would test the unit. The initial response is that we would test each pail individually and mark them individually as separate packagings. These two packagings would not have an overall UN marking. I understand testing (leakproofness, hydrostatic, drop, stack and vibratory tests) and marking each container separately but my question still concerns the two packagings that have been combined. Do we need to do any stack, drop or vibratory testing for the combined packaging? I need a formal letter of interpretation on the interpretation of paragraph 178.600. Harold DePriest Bway Corporation 3737 Miller Park Drive Garland, TX 75042 972-535-1116 972-535-1100 Fax 1#