{"operation":"document","citation":"14-0198","title":"Denton Police Department — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2015-03-04","effective_on":null,"summary":"14-0198 response to Denton Police Department concerning 171.2, 172.504.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-14-0198.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-14-0198.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-14-0198","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2015/140198.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nipeline and Hazardou\nAdministration\nlaterials Safel\nMAR 0 4 2015\nMr. Wm. Scott Burson\nDenton Police Department\n601 E. Hickory St. Ste. E\nDenton, TX 76205\nRef. No. 14-0198\nDear Mr. Burson:\nThis responds to your October 14, 2014 e-mail requesting clarification of the placarding\nrequirements of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180).\nSpecifically, your questions relate to a flatbed trailer carrying mixed cargo of hazardous and\nnon-hazardous material (i.e., pipeline servicing equipment and supplies, including one\nintermediate bulk container with hazardous material). Your questions have been\nparaphrased and answered as follows:\nQ1. If there are packages containing the communicated hazard on the transport\nvehicle, may placards be affixed to pieces of cargo on the transport vehicle when the\npieces of cargo do not contain hazardous material?\nA1. No. Under § 171.2(k), \"[no] person may, by marking or otherwise, represent\nthat a hazardous material is present in a package, container, motor vehicle, rail car,\naircraft, or vessel if the hazardous material is not present.\" Even though there may\nbe obstructed views due to the manner of loading the transport vehicle, the\npackage(s) and transport vehicle must still be placarded in accordance with the\nHMR.\nQ2. Can placards be attached to pieces of cargo that are clearly not hazardous\nmaterials, such as bundles of dressed lumber?\nA2. No. Section 171.2(k) still applies even though it may be obvious that a piece of\ncargo does not contain hazardous material. The placards cannot be affixed to the\nnon-hazardous cargo. Under § 172.504(a), placards must be affixed to each side and\neach end of the transport vehicle itself, except as otherwise provided by the HMR.\nI hope this answers your inquiry. If you need additional assistance, please contact this office\nagain.\nActing Chief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nResto\n172.504\nGoodall, Shante CTR (PHMSA)\nPlacardens reguresent\nFrom:\n14-0198\nSent:\nCiccarone, Michael CTR (PHMSA)\nWednesday, October 15, 2014 10:11 AM\nTo:\nHazmat Interps\nSubject:\nAttachments:\nFW: Interpretation Request - Prohibited Placarding, or not?\n2014-10-14_152636.JPG; 2014-10-14_152723.JPG; 2014-10-14_152752.JPG; 2014-10-14_\n152815.JPG; 2014-10-14_152835.JPG; 2014-10-14_152958.JPG\nShante and Alice,\nPlease submit this for a formal letter of interpretation.\nThanks,\nMike\nFrom: Burson, William S [mailto: Scott.Burson@cityofdenton.com]\nSent: Tuesday, October 14, 2014 4:40 PM\nTo: PHMSA HM InfoCenter\nSubject: Interpretation Request - Prohibited Placarding, or not?\nPHMSA,\nI am requesting an interpretation of the HMRs pertaining to hazardous materials in highway transport. The\nHMR in question relates to placard requirements.\nScenario [Please refer to the six photos attached.]:\nA company truck-tractor/semi-trailer is operated in interstate commerce. The flatbed trailer contains a mixed\nload of pipeline servicing equipment and supplies. Aboard are five IBCs of which only one is a hazardous\nmaterial, the other four being non-regulated materials. The IBC containing the hazardous material [UN1993] is\ndisplaying flammable liquid placards with the proper UN identification number displayed on the placard. The\nplacards on the IBC are on two opposing sides and are visible to observers standing to the left side and right\nside of the flatbed semi-trailer. Per 172.504, the transport vehicle must also display flammable liquid placards\nto the front and rear of the transport vehicle. [In this case the truck-tractor is not displaying placards and does\nnot factor into this interpretation request.]\nThe semi-trailer itself is not equipped with placard hangers or placard posts. The company decides to attach a\nfront facing flammable liquid placard upon an IBC that does not contain a hazardous material. The company\nalso attaches a rear facing flammable liquid placard on the end of a specialty toolbox that does not contain\nany hazardous materials.\nQuestion: May placards be affixed to pieces of cargo on a transport vehicle when the pieces of cargo do not\ncontain hazardous materials, even if the intent of the carrier is to enhance the visibility of the placards on the\nends of a transport vehicle? And, what if the end placards are attached to pieces of cargo that clearly are not\nhazardous materials such as bundles of dressed lumber or coils of steel?\nThe pertinent regulations in this matter appear to be the following three:\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n171.2 General requirements\n(k), No person may, by marking or otherwise, represent that a hazardous material is present in a\npackage, container, motor vehicle, rail car, aircraft, or vessel if the hazardous material is not present.\n172.502 Prohibited and permissive placarding\n(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, no person may affix or display on a\npackaging, freight container, unit load device, motor vehicle or rail car-\n(1) Any placard described in this subpart unless—\n(i) The material being offered or transported is a hazardous material;\n(ii) The placard represents a hazard of the hazardous material being offered or\ntransported; and\n(iii) Any placarding conforms to the requirements of this subpart.\n172.516 Visibility and display of placards\n(a), Each placard on a motor vehicle and each placard on a rail car must be clearly visible from the\ndirection it faces, except from the direction of another transport vehicle or rail car to which the motor\nvehicle or rail car is coupled. This requirement may be met by the placards displayed on the freight\ncontainers or portable tanks loaded on a motor vehicle or rail car.\nThe company interpretation I heard employed was that a higher placard is a more visible placard. There was a\nclaim that a placard placed high on a piece of non-regulated cargo is permissible because of the last sentence\nof 172.516(a). [See the paragraph above.]\nThere was a further claim that since a hazardous material is being transported on the vehicle, and the\nplacard does represent the hazardous material being transport on the vehicle, and the placards are to\nspecification, then the placarding of non-regulated cargo is compliant with 171.2(k) and 172.502(a)(1) and not\nprohibited by 172.516.\nFinally, on this side of the issue, there was a position that no specific placarding prohibition exists\nworded in the same specific manner as 172.401 when prohibited labeling is considered.\n172.401 Prohibited labeling.\n(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no person may offer for transportation and no\ncarrier may transport a package bearing a label specified in this subpart unless:\n(1) The package contains a material that is a hazardous material, and\n(2) The label represents a hazard of the hazardous material in the package.\n(b) No person may offer for transportation and no carrier may transport a package bearing any\nmarking or label which by its color, design, or shape could be confused with or conflict with a label\nprescribed by this part.\nOn the other hand, there is a concern that the placarding as depicted in the photos can be deemed as a\nconfusing hazardous materials communication. The concern is that all of the packages bearing placards on the\nsemi-trailer may be presumed to contain hazardous materials and that such a presumption could adversely\naffect or delay a course of response in a crisis. To avoid such confusion, the placards on the ends of the\ntransport vehicle should be affixed to the transport vehicle itself, not to pieces of cargo on the transport\nvehicle containing unregulated materials.\nCan you please clarify?\nThank you for your consideration in this matter.\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nRespectfully,\nWm. Scott Burson\nCrash Investigator/Commercial Motor Vehicle Roadside Inspector\nDenton Police Department\n601 E. Hickory St. Ste. E\nDenton, Texas 76205\nMain: 940/349-8181\nOffice: 940/349-7851","truncated":false,"body_characters":7972}