{"operation":"document","citation":"15-0018","title":"New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2015-08-06","effective_on":null,"summary":"15-0018 response to New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, Inc. concerning 173.22.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0018.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0018.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0018","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2015/150018.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nof Transportation\nU.S. Department\nWashington. DC 20590\n1200 New Jersey Avenue SE\nMaterials Safety\nPipeline and Hazardous\nAdministration\nAUG 0 6 2015\nMr. Adam S. Guziejewski\nAssistant Executive Director for\nPolicy and Membership\nNew Jersev State Funeral Directors\nP.O. Box L\nManasquan, NJ 08736-0642\nReference No. 15-0018\nDear Mr. Guziejewski:\nThis is in response to your January 21, 2015 letter, January 16 and 23, 2015 e-mails,\nJanuary 16, 2015 telephone conversation, and March 4, 2015 meeting with Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) staff members requesting\nclarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180)\napplicable to embalming process wastewater generated by a dozen New Jersey funeral\nhomes. Specifically, you ask if the HMR's requirements for infectious substances apply to\nembalming process wastewater when transported in commerce.\nYou brought a document to the March 4* meeting entitled \"Synopsis Regarding the Limited\nTransportation of Funeral Home Embalming Wastewater to the Treatment Works for Final\nDisposal as Ordinary Wastewater (Note as Infectious Waste).\" You also attached three\ndocuments in your January 16\" e-mail. These include: 1) a June 9, 1995 report\ncommissioned and published by the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association\n(NJSFDA) entitled \"Funeral Home Wastestream Audit Report;\" 2) five attachments to the\nreport entitled (A) \"Attachment A-National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) Master\nList: Material Safety Data Sheet Chemicals,\" (B) \"Individual Funeral Home Sampling\nData,\" (C) \"Background on Embalming,\" (D) \"Sampling Field Notes,\" and (E) \"NFDA\nWaste Minimization Recommendations;\" and 3) a January 5, 2015 Work Plan entitled \"\nNew Jersey State Funeral Directors Association Assessment of Pathogens in Embalming\nProcess Wastewater (diverted to and stored in above ground septic tanks prior to\ntransportation and discharge to a treatment works.\" Summarized, these documents say the\nfollowing:\nThe residual presence of formaldehyde, a known and effective germicide, suggests\nthat any infectious materials are likely to be rendered inactive in the embalming\nprocess.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\n• Alcohol and formaldehyde are also considered to have disinfection properties.\nThese chemicals are also believed to disinfect pathogens in the embalming\nwastewater and most likely render the waste as noninfectious.\n• Given that the wastewater under discussion will be further treated by a sewage\ntreatment plant atter transport trom the tuneral home, and given that the US DOT\ncriteria - to the extent applicable - speaks to a standard of Category B infectious\nwastes as \"unlikely to cause disease in humans and animals,\" we believe there is a\nlogical alignment between the USEPA Class-B sludge criteria and the US DOT\nCategory B standards.\nIn conformance with § 173.22 of the HMR, it is the shipper's responsibility to properly\nclassify a hazardous material. This Office generally does not perform this function.\nHowever, based on the information you provided, it is the opinion of this Office that the\nmaterial you described does not meet the definition of an infectious substance, also known\nas a Division 6.2 material, under § 173.134. Therefore, it is not subject to the HMR's\nrequirements for infectious substances.\nI hope this satisfies you request.\nSincerely,\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nEemorson\n113.134\nGoodall, Shante CTR (PHMSA)\nDer into, and duception\nFrom:\nEdmonson, Eileen (PHMSA)\n154-9018\nSent:\nFriday, January 23, 2015 10:40 AM\nTo:\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA); Goodall, Shante CTR (PHMSA)\nSubject:\nFW: Request for Verification\nAttachments:\nUSDOT_Letter_Re_Embalming_Wastewater_Jan_21_2015.pdf\nLadies - Can one of you please log this letter to me for response?\nThank you,\nEileen Edmonson\nUSDOT/PHMSA\n(202) 366-7041 (f)\n(202) 366-4481 (W)\neileen.edmonson@dot.gov (e-mail)\ninfocntr@dot.gov (Hazmat Info Center E-mail)\nhttp://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat (website)\nFrom: Guziejewski, Adam [mailto:aguziejewski@njsfda.org]\nSent: Friday, January 23, 2015 10:39 AM\nTo: Edmonson, Eileen (PHMSA)\nCc: Tackett, Christina (PHMSA); mike merola@wswdc.com; Kelder, George R\nSubject: Request for Verification\nGood Morning Eileen,\nThank you for your time last Friday to discuss the transportation of embalming process wastewater generated by\nabout a dozen New Jersey funeral homes.\nAs we discussed - the NJSFDA needed to submit a written request to the US DOT in order to receive a written\nverification regarding our understanding that the rules of the Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety\nAdministration of the U.S. Department of Transportation at 49 C.F.R. § 173.134 Class 6, Division 6.2 relating\nto infectious waste do not apply to the transportation of embalming process wastewater.\nI have attached that request for verification with this email. A paper copy has also been placed in the mail.\nA response from the US DOT at its earliest possible convenience would be greatly appreciated.\nThank you for your attention to this matter.\nSincerely,\nAdam\nAdam S. Guziejewski\nNew Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, Inc.\nAssistant Executive Director for Policy and Membership\nPO Box L\nManasquan, NJ 08736-0642\nPhone: (732) 282-5113 (Direct)\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nNew Jersey State\nFuneral Directors\nUSEDA\nAssociation, Inc.\nManasquan NJ 08736-0642\nP.O. Box L\nJanuary 21, 2015\nMs. Eileen Edmonson\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nUnited States Department of Transportation\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nRE: Request for Verification\nDear Ms. Edmonson:\nThank you for your time on Friday, January 16, 2015 to discuss the transportation of embalming process\nwastewater generated by New Jersey funeral homes that are not connected directly to a public sewer system.\nAs a result of our conversation, the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association (NJSFDA) requests\nwritten verification from the United States Department of Transportation (US DOT) that the rules of the\nPipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation at 49 C.F.R.\n§ 173.134 Class 6, Division 6.2 relating to infectious waste do not apply to the transportation of embalming\nprocess wastewater.\nBy way of background, embalming process wastewater primarily contains water, blood, human waste and de\nminimus (but nevertheless present) components of methanol, phenol, formaldehyde and Clorox or other\ngenerally accepted USEPA approved disinfectants used for cleaning. According to research, the contents of\nembalming process wastewater pose no more threat to the environment or public health than its domestic\nequivalent.\nA 1993 report commissioned and published by the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA) entitled\nFuneral Home Wastestream Audit Report (\"Wastestream Audit\" - a copy of which was provided to you and\nthe US DOT under separate cover) found that the total discharge from a funeral home, which for the purposes\nof the report included embalming wastewater and other domestic sanitary wastewater, had average pollutant\nconcentrations of BODs at 225 mg/l (range 25 - 438 mg/l), COD at 601 mg/1 (range 106 - 880 mg/l), phenols\nat 3.8 mg/1 (range 0.01 - 19.0 mg/l), methanol at 54.7 (range ND - 173 mg/1) and formaldehyde at 88.2 mg/1\n(range 5.2 - 410 mg/l). Given that funeral home BODs and COD concentrations were found to be in the same\nrange as typical household discharge, embalming process wastewater does not meet the definition of Class A\nor Class B infectious waste as established by 49 C.F.R. § 173.134 Class 6, Division 6.2.\nTelephone: 732.974.9444\nwww.njsfda.org\nFax: 732.974.8144\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nNew Jersey Stare\nNISHDA\nAssociation, Inc.\nFuneral Directors\nPage 2 of 2, Letter to USDOT\nThe NFDA's Wastestream Audit also concluded that, due to its benign nature, the discharge of embalming\nwastewater into a sewer system for eventual treatment by a sewage treatment plant (STP) constitutes best\nSTPs.\npractice for disposal and that embalming process wastewater has no measurable impact on the operation of\nWhile most of New Jersey's funeral homes discharge their embalming effluent from their preparation rooms\ndirectly into the local sanitary sewer system for treatment by an STP, there are a small number of New Jersey\nfuneral homes (approximately 12 to 15) that are not served by a direct connection to a local sanitary sewer.\nThese firms dispose of their embalming process wastewater through a two-step tank and haul process, a\nsolution engineered and agreed to through a collaborative effort of the New Jersey Department of\nEnvironmental Protection (NJ-DEP) and the NJSFDA in 2004/2005. Funeral homes that tank and haul their\neffluent isolate the embalming process wastewater in their facilities to an above ground tank, where it is\nstored until it is pumped and transported by ordinary septic haulers to a local STP for final disposal.\nThe rationale for the tank and haul solution is based on the fact that the discharged embalming process\nwastewater is widely considered ordinary septic waste and, as best practice indicates, ought to be disposed of\nin the same manner as its domestic equivalent - at a sewage treatment plant. As part of accepting the tank and\nhaul compliance strategy, the NJ-DEP stipulated, explicitly, that embalming process wastewater should be\nidentified and treated as domestic equivalent (ID#73) and not regulated medical waste.\nThe only apparent difference between discharging directly to sewer and using the tank and haul method is\nhow the embalming process wastewater arrives at its final destination which, due to its classification as\ndomestic equivalent, presents no concerns regarding its transportation to an STP.\nThe NJSFDA believes that the current practice is not contemplated or covered by the regulations regarding\nthe transportation of \"infectious waste\" (49 C:F.R. § 173.134 Class 6, Division 6.2) and as such, requests that\nthe US DOT provide written verification of the NJSFDA's understanding.\nPlease let me know if you have any questions.\nSincerely,\nAdar Aigerati\nAdam S. Guziejewski\nASSISTANT EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR POLICY AND MEMBERSHIP\ncc: Christina L. Tackett, Office of Chief Counsel, USDOT\nMichael Merola, Winning Strategies Washington","truncated":false,"body_characters":10340}