{"operation":"document","citation":"14-0094","title":"Western Sales and Testing of Amarillo, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2014-10-22","effective_on":null,"summary":"14-0094 response to Western Sales and Testing of Amarillo, Inc. concerning 171.8, 180.207.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-14-0094.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-14-0094.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-14-0094","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2014/140094.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\nOCT 2 2 2014\nMr. Mark Griffin\nWestern Sales and Testing of Amarillo, Inc.\n114 E. 461h, P.O. Box 2446\nAmarillo, TX 79105\nRef. No. 14-0094\nDear Mr. Griffin:\nThis responds to your May 13, 2014letter requesting further clarification of the\nrequalification requirements for a seamless steel UN pressure receptacle under\n§ 180.207(d)(l) ofthe Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171 -180)\nWifn respecno guia ance offerea. ~lnJ.ettef() f interpretat ion (COIJRe ; 0. n = m37 Issued\nDecember 13, 2013. Your questions are paraphrased and answered as follows:\nQl. Based on the PHMSA response in the above-referenced letter that \"PHMSA\nadopted language that required requalification 1 in accordance with ISO 6406 or\nprocedures approved by the Associate Administrator,\" is our understanding correct that\nother test methods (e.g., acoustic emissions) may be used if approved by the Associate\nAdministrator and that the approval should be obtained through the special permit\nprocess?\nA 1. Your understanding is not entirely correct. It is correct that other test methods may\nbe used upon approval. The language you quote from the letter was adopted under a\nfinal rule published June 12, 2006 (HM-220E; 71 FR 33870) and was subsequently\nrevised under a final rule published September 14, 2006 (HM-189Z; 54397). The latter\nrule removed the language allowing alternate procedures under an approval as it was\nrepetitive. We already allowed for alternative test methods or requalification procedures\nif a prior approval has been obtained from the Associate Administrator (see § 180.207\nparagraph (d) introductory text). Further, a UN/ISO pressure receptacle must be\nrequalified in accordance with the relevant ISO standards that are listed in\n§ 180.207. For example, UN/ISO 9809-1 , -2, and -3 pressure receptacles (e.g.,\ncylinders) must be requalified in accordance with ISO 6406.\nIt is incorrect that an approval is obtained through the special permit process. A special\npermit differs from an approval in that it is a document issued by the Associate\nAdministrator letting you perform a function not otherwise permitted by the HMR;\nwhereas an approval is written authorization to perform a function that requires prior\nauthorization by the Associate Administrator (see § 171 .8). The approval process is\nspelled out in 49 CFR Part 107, Subpart H, and specifically, the application for Part 107\n1 The requalification applies to a UN/ISO pressure receptacle.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\napproval is set out in§ 107.705. Note that, if you already have a special permit for\nrequalification of DOT specification cylinders using ultrasonic examination (UE) and\nyou are in need of applying ISO 6406 for requalifi'cation of UN/ISO 9809-1, -2, and -3\npressure receptacles, then you can submit an application for revision of your UE special\npermit to include the UN/ISO 9809-1, -2, and -3 cylinders to the office of Special\nPermits and Approvals.\nQ2. With regard to use ofthe terms UN pressure receptacle, UN cylinder, and UN tube,\nis our understanding correct that the requirement for UE applies only to UN cylinders\nwith a tensile strength 2: 950 MPa and does not apply to UN tubes; and that actually all\nof§ 180.207(d)(l) applies only to UN cylinders because ISO 6406 is limited in scope to\nUN cylinders with a water capacity not exceeding 150 L?\nA2. Again, your understanding is not entirely correct. It is correct that the UN cylinders\nwith a tensile strength 2: 950 MPa must be requalified by UE described in ISO 6406.\nThe UN cylinders with a tensile strength< 950 MPa may be requalified by hydrostatic\ntesting or UE described in ISO 6406. However, it is not correct that the\n§ 180.207(d)(1) general requirement for requalification using ISO 6406 applies only to\n---\n..,_,-c = y -,-, Illilers. We refer you to LOI Ref. No. 13-0146 issued January 16,2014, which\nstates, \"while ISO 6406 does not specifically address requalification of UN tubes, all of\nthe elements associated with the periodic requalification of seamless steel UN tubes are\naddressed and would allow a proper requalification of a UN tube\" and further states,\n\"[w]e are aware that the current ISO 6406 has a limitation of 150 liters, which is\nsubstantially less than the maximum volume of a UN refillable seamless steel tube\n(3,000 liters) ... [u]ntil we adopt a revised standard that specifically addresses the\nrequalification of UN refillable seamless steel tubes, the currently adopted ISO 6406\nmay be used to requalify UN refillable seamless steel tubes (with a [water] capacity\ngreater than 150 liters). A copy of the LOI Ref. No. 13-0146 is enclosed for your\nreview.\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have further questions, please contact this office.\nSincerely,\nChief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nbe r KJ(,Jeren\n§ I ~ 0 . j._tJ 1 (J'{!J\n~ l\n_\nG • ~~-00~1\ni vvJ e~ s_, ,\n~-~~2'BSf.lNG)\nP.O. Box 2446 Amarillo, TX 79105 (806) 373-6811 Fax (806) 373-5971 114 E. 46th St.\nE-MAIL TRANSMISSION\nATTN: Robert.Benedict@dot.gov\nMay 13,2014\nU.S. DOT\nPHMSA Office of Hazardous Materials Standards\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nAttn: PHH-1 0\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590-0001\n---\nRefNo. 13-0137\nDear Mr. Benedict,\nRegarding the PHMSA response ofDecember 13,2013, (Ref. No. 13-0137), to our request for\nclarification of section 180.207 (d) (1) of CFR49, we submit the following request for further\namplification.\nPHMSA response states, \"PHMSA adopted language that required requalification in accordance\nwith ISO 6406 or procedures approved by the Associate Administrator.\"\n• Are we correct in inferring that this statement means that other test methods, (i.e.,\nAcoustic Emission!UT combination), may be utilized if approved by the Associate\nAdministrator, and that the approval should be sought through the Special Permit\nprocess?\nAdditionally, we seek clarification on the specific wording of §180.207 (d) (1). We are\nspecifically interested in the following sentence.\n• \"However, UN cylinders with a tensile strength greater than or equal to 950 MPa must be\nrequalified by ultrasonic examination in accordance with ISO 6406.\"\n§ 171.8 of CFR49, provides definitions for UN cylinders, UN pressure receptacles, and UN tubes\nas follows.\n• \"UN cylinder means a transportable pressure receptacle with a water capacity not\nexceeding 150L that has been marked and certified as conforming to the applicable\nrequirements in part 178 of this subchapter.\"\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n• \"UN pressure receptacle means a UN cylinder or tube.\"\n• \"UN tube means a seamless transportable pressure receptacle with water capacity\nexceeding 150L but not more than 3,000L that has been marked and certified as\nconforming to the requirements in part 178 of this subchapter.\"\n§180.207 (d) (1) states, \"Seamless steel: Each seamless steel UN pressure receptacle, including\nMEGC's pressure receptacles, must be requalified in accordance with ISO 6406 (IBR, see § 171.7\nof this subchapter). However, UN cylinders with a tensile strength greater than or equal to 950\nMPa must be requalified by ultrasonic examination in accordance with ISO 6406.\"\nBased upon the incorporated definitions, and the fact that ISO 6406-2005 is specifically limited\nin scope to cylinders of water capacity from 0.5L up to 150L are we,\n• Correct in our conclusion that the requirement for ultrasonic examination applies only to\nUN cylinders with a tensile strength 2:950 MPa and does not apply to UN tubes of water\ncapacity greater than 150L but less than 3,000L?\n_ _..__\n. £w.:ther, si-nce~I£0--640o-2QQ~- is-limitea- in-seepe- to (}yl-incl.ers~ef-water -eapaeity -less~than\n150L, are we correct in concluding that ISO 6406-2005 is in fact not applicable to the\nrequalification of pressure receptacles of water capacity greater than 150L, but less than\n3,000L as far as§ 180.207 (d) regulatory requirements are concerned and/or interpreted?\nExecutive Vice President\nWestern Sales and Testing of Amarillo, Inc.","truncated":false,"body_characters":8127}