{"operation":"document","citation":"13-0053","title":"OBO/CFSM/FAC/PS, — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2013-05-06","effective_on":null,"summary":"13-0053 response to OBO/CFSM/FAC/PS, concerning 171.8, 172.101.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-13-0053.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-13-0053.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-13-0053","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2013/130053.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n1200 New Jersey Ave, S.E.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nMAY 06 Z013\nMs. Heidi I. Barranca-Fisher\nOBO/CFSM/FAC/PS, Room 1202\n1701 North Fort Myer Drive\nArlington, VA 22219\nReference No.: 13-0053\nDear Ms. Barranca-Fisher:\nThis is in response to your February 21,2013 email to the Approvals and Permits Division\nof the Office of Hazardous Materials Safety requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the transportation of\nTrichlorot1uoromethane (R-11 refrigerant).\nYou present a scenario where the Environmental Security Protection System Team within\nthe U.S. Department of State is transporting cylinders used for testing filtration systems\ninstalled in U.S. Department of State diplomatic buildings. Each cylinder contains four (4)\npounds ofR-11 refrigerant. The cylinders are packaged separately in aluminum carrying\ncases and transported by highway or carried aboard passenger aircraft as checked baggage.\nYou ask whether the transportation ofthe R-11 refrigerant is regulated or prohibited under\nthe HMR or the International Civil Aviation Organization, Technical Instructions for the\nSafe Transp01iation of Dangerous Goods by Air (ICAO-TI).\nTrichlorot1uoromethane (R-11 refrigerant) in the quantity and package described is not\nregulated and not prohibited under the HMR or ICAO-TI for transportation by air or\nhighway.\nTrichlorof1uoromethane (R-11refrigerant) is not regulated as a hazardous material under the\nHMR or the ICAO-TI for transportation by air or highway unless it meets one or more of\nthe following conditions: It is listed in the HMR § 172.10 I hazardous materials table, or\nTable 3-1 (Dangerous Goods List) ofthe ICAO-Tl; it meets the HMR or ICAO-TI\ndefinition of one or more hazard classes (in this instance, a gas); or it meets the HMR\ndefinition of a hazardous substance.\n(l) Neither trichlorot1uoromethane or R-11 refrigerant is listed in the HMR § 172.101\nhazardous materials table, or Table 3-1 (Dangerous Goods List) of the ICAO-TI.\n(2) The HMR § 171.8 definition of a hazardous substance, is a material that is listed in\nappendix A to HMR § 172.101 (the hazardous substances table) and is in a quantity\nin one package which equals or exceeds the reportable quantity (RQ).\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nTrichlorofluoromethane is listed in the hazardous substances table as\ntrichloromonofluoromethane with an RQ of 5,000 pounds. The quantity of\ntrichlorofluoromethane being transported in each package ( 4 pounds) is less than\n5,000 pounds. The material as packaged does not meet the HMR § 171.8 definition\nof a hazardous substance.\n(3) The HMR § 171.8 and ICAO-TI 2;2.1.1 definition of a gas is a material which has a\nvapor pressure greater than 300 kPa (43.5 psia) at 50 oc (122 °F) or is completely\ngaseous at 20 °C (68 °F) at a standard pressure of 101.3 kPa (14.7 psia).\nThe material safety data sheet for R-11 refrigerant provides a boiling point of 74.5\noF and a vapor pressure of 12.8 psia at 68 °F. Additional information obtained from\nthe supplier of the R -11 refrigerant provides a vapor pressure of 3 5. 7 psi a at 125 °F.\nSince the boiling point of the R-11 refrigerant is 74.5 °F it would not be completely\ngaseous at 68 °F. Further, the vapor pressure of the R-11 refrigerant is 35.7 psia at\n125 °F which is less than 43.5 psia at 122 °F. Therefore, R-11 refrigerant does not\nmeet the HMR § 171.8 and ICAO-TI 2;2.1.1 definition of a gas.\nI trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nQ2 ~ic.-~,..-, -*\"V\nDelmer Bil ings\nSenior Regulatory Advisor\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nDrakeford, Carol\nFrom:\nSent:\nTo:\nSubject:\nAttachments:\nINFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nFriday, February 22, 2013 2:07PM\nDrakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA)\nFW: Special Permit to Transport R-11 Refrigerant aboard passenger aircraft\nRE Special Permit to Transport R-11 Refrigerant aboard passenger aircraft; Attachment A-\nMobile Test Kit.pdf; Attachment 8- R11 MSDS.pdf; Attachment C- Refrigerant Temperature\nPressure Chart.pdf; Attachment D- Robinair Cylinder. pdf\nHi Carolyn,\nWe received the following request for a formal letter of interpretation.\nThanks,\nVictoria\nFrom: Barranca-Fisher, Heidi I [mailto:Barranco-FisherHI@state.gov]\nSent: Thursday, February 21, 2013 12:19 PM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nCc: LaValle, Diane (PHMSA); ESPS\nSubject: FW: Special Permit to Transport R-11 Refrigerant aboard passenger aircraft\nHi Mike-\nAs discussed a few ago, we, the US Department of State, are requesting a Formal Letter of Interpretation to transport R-11\nRefrigerant aboard passenger aircraft. The details on the quantity, conveyance, and why we need to transport are\ndetailed below and attached.\nWe understand that the R-11 in the quantity and pressure range we have described is not regulated; Hazardous Class 2.2\ndoes not apply nor does Class 9.\nThe 120 day turn-around for the requested letter is of concern. The next embassy on schedule is US Embassy Rangoon, in\nmid April. Please let us know if your require additional information and what if anything we can do to assist in expediting\nour request.\nThanks,\nHeidi\nESP$ TEAM\nEnvironmental Security Protection Systems (Chem-Bio)\n703.875.4825\nESPS@STATE.GOV\nPlease note that this is a group email box. ensures transparency and a prompt reply!\nAll who work on the ESPS program will be aware of this correspondence, which\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nFrom: Barranca-Fisher, Heidi I\nSent: Thursday, February 21, 2013 11:55 AM\nTo: 'diane.lavalle@dot.gov'\nCc: ESPS\nSubject: RE: Special Permit to Transport R-11 Refrigerant aboard passenger aircraft\nDiane-\nThanks for the contact information. I'm on the phone with them now, but the gentleman assisting is saying that this is an\nissue for the Special Permits office. I may be looping back to you.\nHeidi\nESPS TEAM\nEnvironmental Security Protection Systems (Chem-Bio)\n703.875.4825\nESPS@STATE.GOV\nPlease note that this is a group email box. ensures transparency and a prompt reply!\nAll who work on the ESPS program will be aware of this correspondence, which\nFrom: diane.lavalle@dot.gov [ mailto:diane.lavalle@dot.gov]\nSent: Thursday, February 21, 2013 11:23 AM\nTo: Barranca-Fisher, Heidi I\nSubject: RE: Special Permit to Transport R-11 Refrigerant aboard passenger aircraft\nHi Heidi,\nI briefly spoke with my contact at FAA, we pretty much agreed that TSA does what they want. I forgot to even mention\nthat even if it gets through TSA, the airline can refuse the shipment.\nThe amount of R-11 that you are transporting is not regulated unless it is under pressure, as we discussed. The best\nsuggestion I have for you is to get a letter of clarification from our Office of Hazardous Materials Standards. At least then\nyou will have a piece of paper with DOT's position.\nI'm going to give you the phone number for that Office, they will tell you how best to proceed. I believe it is a 6 week\nturnaround for a letter and a few days for an email. The number is 202-366-8553 or you can reach our Hazardous\nMaterials Information Center at 800-467-4922, then press 1 (it's the same group).\nI hope that helps.\nDiane\nFrom: Barranca-Fisher, Heidi I [mailto:Barranco-FisherHI@state.gov]\nSent: Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:49 AM\nTo: LaValle, Diane (PHMSA)\nCc: ESPS\nSubject: RE: Special Permit to Transport R-11 Refrigerant aboard passenger aircraft\nGood morning Diane,\nI'm following up on our conversation of Wednesday. Any luck with FAA?\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nAttached is the information we received from TSA. TSA is more than willing to assist getting the R-11 through their\nsecurity checkpoint. However, as TSA cautions, the airlines can still refuse. We have not reached out to the airlines (we\nfly all carriers) as of yet, and hesitate to do so until we can strengthen our argument with a clarification document from\nDOT.\nIn addition to transporting R-11 in passenger aircraft, we are needing to transport the same via ground to the US side of\nthe border with Mexico. The US Consulate/Cuidad Juarez staff will retrieve from there. So, for ground transportation,\nwould our scenario (given the substance, quantity, conveyance) be Class 2.2 or Class 9? The pressure range in the\ncharging cylinder would be less than the limit of 29 psig (that is my read). We want to be fully compliant, but navigating\nthe regs is more than heady.\nWe truly appreciate your guidance and assistance.\nI am working from home today (yes ... lucky me again). I will give a ring later today or if you can ring me at 410.627.2321 at\nyour earliest convenience to discuss.\nAgain, many thanks,\nHeidi\nESPS TEAM\nEnvironmental Security Protection Systems (Chem-Bio)\n703.875.4825\nESPS@STATE.GOV\nPlease note that this is a group email box. ensures transparency and a prompt reply!\nAll who work on the ESPS program will be aware of this correspondence, which\nFrom: diane.lavalle@dot.gov [mailto:diane.lavalle@dot.gov]\nSent: Tuesday, February 19, 2013 11:27 AM\nTo: Barranca-Fisher, Heidi I\nSubject: FW: Special Permit to Transport R-11 Refrigerant aboard passenger aircraft\nHi Heidi,\nThis is not a complete application, I can't tell what you are requesting. I'm attaching a checklist for your use.\nUN 3082 is not forbidden for transportation aboard passenger carrying aircraft. It seems that your problems are TSA\nrelated and not because it's a hazardous material. Call me if you would like to discuss.\nDiane LaValle\n202-366-4369\nFrom: Barranca-Fisher, Heidi I [mailto:Barranco-FisherHI@state.gov]\nSent: Friday, February 15, 2013 4:08PM\nTo: Special Permits (PHMSA); Herzog, Kenneth (PHMSA); 'erland.hawkins@dhs.gov'\nCc: ESPS\nSubject: Special Permit to Transport R-11 Refrigerant aboard passenger aircraft\nKenny I Erland,\n3\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\nAs discussed via telephone earlier this week, our team provides support to the Environmental Security\nProtection System Team (ESPS) within the US Department of State, Overseas Buildings Operations. We are\nseeking your assistance in providing us with a waiver to transport Refrigerant R-11 aboard passenger aircraft.\nBackground:\nThe Environmental Security Protection Systems (ESPS aka Chem-Bio) are installed in DoS diplomatic buildings\nto reduce risk to occupants in the event of an internal or external chemical, biological, or radiological incident. It\nprovides continuous life and safety protection.\nThe enhanced filtration system requires testing with refrigerant R-11 to ensure 99.99% of the airstream passes\nthrough the specialized filters that inactivate chemical, biological, and radiological threat agents.\nSince June 2012, we have tested the filter installations at 10 diplomatic posts using a $35,000 mobile test kit\n(Attachment A). The installation/testing technician travels with the mobile test kit, checking it in as\nbaggage. Upon his return through Miami from his last trip to Managua, and although the charging cylinder was\nempty with only a film coat of residue, this key piece of instrumentation was seized by the airport\nauthorities/TSA. Unfortunately, we have been unable to retrieve it and are resigned to write it off as a\nloss. Granted the seized instrument was worth $330, (which is expensive in our line of work), but we are more\nconcerned with future travel and us not being able to test and validate immediately after installation.\nWe schedule our installs to do two or three diplomatic posts back-to-back (the last trip was Kingston, Panama,\nand lastly Managua). Should any of the instruments be held up at any point during the install sequence we will\nnot be able to test. This would mean that we would have to arrange for possible re-purchasing of long-lead time\ninstruments, cargo airfreight the instruments to the diplomatic posts, and incur the travel and per diem cost of a\nsecond trip for the installer/tester. The disruption to the schedule and additional costs would be a very\nsignificant setback in us timely servicing these life safety systems.\nAs noted above, the halide gas used to test is Refrigerant R-11 , trichloromonofluoromethane (Attachment\nB). This refrigerant is increasing difficult to obtain worldwide as it is no longer manufactured. Until recently, our\nstandard procedure had been to travel with the charging cylinder empty, relying on the diplomatic post to provide\nthe required R-11. Unfortunately, our next destination, US Embassy Algiers, was unable to timely confirm that\nthey had sourced R-11 prior to our scheduled departure. On Friday, February 8, our installer/tester, unaware of\n.R-11 transport restrictions, attempted to check-in the mobile test kit with the charging cylinder filled with R-\n11. Upon learning that the charging cylinder was filled with R-11, the TSA agent inspecting the mobile kit\nconfiscated the charging cylinder. The installer/tester consulted with several authorities from TSA and United\nAirlines and was advised that all refrigerants were banned from passenger flights; cargo would be the only way\nto transport. The installer/tester aborted travel and retrieved the charging cylinder.\nRequest:\nA special permit/waiver be issued that will allow our installer/tester to transport the charging cylinder filled with\nfour pounds of R-11 as checked-in baggage on commercial passenger flights.\n1. Attachment A: Photograph of Mobile Test Kit\n2. Attachment B: Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) R-11, trichloromonofluoromethane, UN3082\n3. Attachment C: Refrigerant Temperature/Pressure Table\nPressure ranges for the R-11 in the charging cylinder would be as follows:\nRange Temperature Pressure Remark\nLow -60°F 14.42 PSIG airplane cruising altitude of 30,000\nFill 75°F 0.07 PSIG sea level as liquefied Qas/super saturated liquid\nHigh 150°F 37.71 PSIG tarmac in Saudi Arabia averages 122°F\n4. Attachment D: Charging Cylinder Product Data\n4\n\n<<<PAGE 7>>>\n\nRobinair Dial-A-Charge, Harmonized Code 7613000000\n49 CFR 107.105:\n107.105 (c)(1)\n107.105 (c)(2)\n107.105 (c)(3)\n107.105 (c)(4)\n107.105 (c)(5)\n107.105 (c)(6)\n107.105 (c)(7)\n107.105 (c)(8)\n107.105 (c)(9)\n107.105 (c)(10)\n107.105 (c)(11)\n107.105 (c)(12)\n107.105 (c)(13)\n107.105 (c)(14)\nThe Reportable Quantity for Refrigerant R-11, trichloromonofluoromethane, UN3082 is\n5,000 lbs. A specific regulation in the CFR restricting the transport of 4 lbs of liquefied gas\nwas not found.\nPassenger aircraft\nFour lbs of R-11, in liquefied gas state would be transported in the Robinair 436788 Dial-\nA-Charge cylinder, which is stored in a foam padded aluminum carry case. See\nAttachments A and D.\n16 commercial passenger flights per year, indefinitely\nR-11 cannot be sourced locally. There are no other modes of transportation available.\nEmergency processing is requested. R-11 is needed to test life safety systems in\ndiplomatic posts worldwide.\n41bs of R-11 in each shipment.\nSee 107.105 (c)(3)\nN/A\nSee 107.105 (c)(4)\nN/A\nSee 107.105 (c)(6)\nN/A\nUS Department of State contract personnel will be acting as the shipper; various\ncommercial airlines will be the carrier\nPoint of Contact:\nHeidi Barranco-Fisher I Contractor\n080/CFSM/FAC/PS, Room 1202\n1701 North Fort Myer Drive\nArlington, VA 22219\n703.875.4825\nbarranco-fisherhi@state.gov\nWe trust that the above and attached will facilitate your prompt review of our request. Please do not hesitate to\ncontact us via telephone at 703.875.4825 or email ESPS@state.gov, should additional information be required.\nMany thanks,\nHeidi\nThis email is UNCLASSIFIED.\n5\n\n<<<PAGE 8>>>\n\n\n\n<<<PAGE 9>>>\n\n- The Charging\nCylinder Or\nConditioning\nChoice For Air\nService","truncated":false,"body_characters":15483}