{"operation":"document","citation":"15-0062","title":"Authorized Testing Inc, IA02 — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2015-09-21","effective_on":null,"summary":"15-0062 response to Authorized Testing Inc, IA02 concerning 178.50.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0062.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0062.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0062","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2015/150062.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nWashington. DC 20590\n1200 New Jersey Avenue SE\nMaterials Safety\nPipeline and Hazardous\nAdministration\nSEP 2 1 2015\nDavid R. Bacca\nProgram Manager / Executive Technical Assistant\nAuthorized Testing Inc., IA02\n2522 Kansas Ave.\nRiverside, CA 92507-2637\nRef. No.: 15-0062\nDear Mr. Bacca:\nThis is a response to your March 25, 2015 email requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to Specification 4B welded\nor brazed steel cylinders. In your email, you state that you are an approved independent\ninspection agency (IA02) for the manufacture of Department of Transportation (DOT)\n• pressure vessels. You note that the current language in § 178.50(a) states:\n\"Type, size, and service pressure. A DOT 4B is a welded or brazed steel cylinder with longitudinal\nseams that are forged lap-welded or brazed and with water capacity (nominal) not over 1,000 pounds\nand a service pressure of at least 150 but not over 500 psig. Cylinders closed in by spinning process not\nauthorized.\"\nYou further note that the language in § 178.50-2(a) previously stated:\n\"Type and size. Must be welded or brazed type; longitudinal seams must be forged lap-welded or\nbrazed; not over 1,000 pounds water capacity (nominal). Cylinders closed in by spinning process not\nauthorized.\"\nIn your email, you assert your belief that the current language is incorrect and does not\nrecognize that the previously-worded requirement did not require a longitudinal weld.\nRather, it was implied that if one elected to have a longitudinal weld it would be required to\nmeet the referenced weld / brazing criteria. You ask what prompted this HMR language\nchange and when it occurred, and request an interpretation on the manufacture and continued\nuse of DOT Specification 4B welded or brazed steel cylinders manufactured without a\nlongitudinal weld.\nUnder rulemaking HM-220B [61 FR 25940; May 23, 1996], we restructured the cylinder\nspecification requirements by consolidating repetitive requirements and implementing other\nformatting changes. However, in doing so, the language for a DOT Specification 4B\ncylinder was inadvertently changed to the way it reads currently. Prior to HM-220B, a\nlongitudinal seam was an option (i.e. not mandatory). However, after HM-220B, a\nlongitudinal seam appears to be mandatory. That was not our intention as indicated by the\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nrequirement in § 178.50(f)(1)(i), and we thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.\nPHMSA will revise this language in a future rulemaking.\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to\ncontact this office.\nSincerely,\n7Alenin Foster\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nNickels\n178.50\nGoodall, Shante CTR (PHMSA)\nCulines\nSent:\nFrom:\nCiccarone, Michael CTR (PHMSA)\n15-00102\nThursday, March 26, 2015 9:27 AM\nTo:\nlazmat Interps\nSubject:\nW: Interpretation request 49CFR section 178.5\nAttachments:\nDOT Interpertation request 4B longitudinal weld.pdf\nShante/Alice,\nPlease submit this for a formal letter of interpretation.\nThanks,\nMike\nFrom: David R. Bacca [mailto:d.bacca@authorizedtesting.com]\nSent: Wednesday, March 25, 2015 8:02 PM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nSubject: Interpretation request 49CFR section 178.50\nAhoy Sirs/Madame,\nI have attached a letter explaining the interpretation request. We have new cylinder manufacturing clients that\nare working with the 4B specification and require a clarification to the cylinder specification.\nCalm Seas and Fair Winds,\nDavid R. Bacca\nProgram Manager / Executive Technical Assistant\nMain Office;\nAuthorized Testing Inc., IA02\n2522 Kansas Ave.\nRiverside, Ca 92507-2637 U.S.A.\nTel: 951-682-4110\nFax: 951-682-6090\ne-mail: d.bacca@authorizedtesting.com\nurl: www.authorizedtesting.com\n\"Contents of this communication are important, private, confidential and legally private. In the event of your recieving this\nmessage or a copy in error, please do not study the text, but inform the sender immediately and erase the documents)\nand attachments). Thank you for your corporation in this matter and please accept our appologies for any error and\ninconvenience.\"\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nSent by email: infocntr@dot.gov and letter communication\nDate March 23, 2015\nTo:\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nUnited States Department of Transportation\nAttn: PHH-10\nWashington, DC 20590-0001\nEast Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nFrom:\nAuthorized Testing, Inc.\n2522 Kansas Ave.\nTel:\nRiverside, CA 92507-2637\nEmail: d.bacca@authorizedtesting.com\n951-682-4110\nReference; 49 CFR Section 178.50(a).\ninterpretation on the manufacture and continued use of DOT specification 4B cylinders manufactured without a longitudinal\nAs an approved IIA (IA02) company for the manufacture of DOT pressure vessels, 1 am writing this letter to receive an\nweld as specified in the current 49CFR section 178.50(a). There are new 4B specification cylinders currently being\nmanufactured that do not have a longitudinal weld.\nBackground;\nwording in 178.50 was changed. Previously (approx. 2000) this section 178.50-2(a) read \"Type and size. Must be welded or\nSomewhere around the time that the 49CFR was streamlined (early 2000 years) to reduce the number of pages, the\n178.50(a) reads \"Type, size, and service pressure. A DOT 4B is a welded or brazed steel cylinder with longitudinal seams\nbrazed type; Longitudinal seams must be forged lap-welded or brazed;.....\". Currently the new requirement of section\nthat are .....\nConclusion;\nWe believe the current wording was ill conceived and did not recognize the previously worded requirement did not require a\nreferenced weld/brazing criteria. The current written requirement now requires the cylinder to have longitudinal seams that\nlongitudinal weld but rather implied that if you elected to have a longitudinal weld it would be required to meet the\nare welded or brazed.\nWith the current economic move of cylinder manufacturing relocating to foreign facilities outside the U. S. and the auditing\nof the manufacture and lIA by DOT field investigators prior to the issuing of an approval to manufacture, we had been\ninformed by one of the agents that the current 4B specification requires a longitudinal weld or it would need to be a special\npermit cylinder if it does not have the longitudinal weld.\nInterpretation and Request;\n1.\nTo verify if a longitudinal weld is required in the cylinder of the current version of 49CFR 178.50, and,\n. If the longitudinal weld is required, are cylinders that were manufactured under the current 4B specification that did\nspecification requirements.*\nnot have the longitudinal weld are acceptable for further use or to be removed from service as not meeting the\n* Request actual date when change to 49CFR section 178.xx took place.\nThank you for your time and consideration.\nSincerely,\nVarioR Bacca\nDavid R. Bacca\nProgram Mgr. / Exec. Tech. Assist.\nAuthorized Testing, Inc.","truncated":false,"body_characters":7044}