Authorized Testing Inc, IA02 — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Washington. DC 20590 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE Materials Safety Pipeline and Hazardous Administration SEP 2 1 2015 David R. Bacca Program Manager / Executive Technical Assistant Authorized Testing Inc., IA02 2522 Kansas Ave. Riverside, CA 92507-2637 Ref. No.: 15-0062 Dear Mr. Bacca: This is a response to your March 25, 2015 email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to Specification 4B welded or brazed steel cylinders. In your email, you state that you are an approved independent inspection agency (IA02) for the manufacture of Department of Transportation (DOT) • pressure vessels. You note that the current language in § 178.50(a) states: "Type, size, and service pressure. A DOT 4B is a welded or brazed steel cylinder with longitudinal seams that are forged lap-welded or brazed and with water capacity (nominal) not over 1,000 pounds and a service pressure of at least 150 but not over 500 psig. Cylinders closed in by spinning process not authorized." You further note that the language in § 178.50-2(a) previously stated: "Type and size. Must be welded or brazed type; longitudinal seams must be forged lap-welded or brazed; not over 1,000 pounds water capacity (nominal). Cylinders closed in by spinning process not authorized." In your email, you assert your belief that the current language is incorrect and does not recognize that the previously-worded requirement did not require a longitudinal weld. Rather, it was implied that if one elected to have a longitudinal weld it would be required to meet the referenced weld / brazing criteria. You ask what prompted this HMR language change and when it occurred, and request an interpretation on the manufacture and continued use of DOT Specification 4B welded or brazed steel cylinders manufactured without a longitudinal weld. Under rulemaking HM-220B [61 FR 25940; May 23, 1996], we restructured the cylinder specification requirements by consolidating repetitive requirements and implementing other formatting changes. However, in doing so, the language for a DOT Specification 4B cylinder was inadvertently changed to the way it reads currently. Prior to HM-220B, a longitudinal seam was an option (i.e. not mandatory). However, after HM-220B, a longitudinal seam appears to be mandatory. That was not our intention as indicated by the 1#

Page 2requirement in § 178.50(f)(1)(i), and we thank you for bringing this matter to our attention. PHMSA will revise this language in a future rulemaking. I hope this information is helpful. If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Sincerely, 7Alenin Foster T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division 2#

Page 3Nickels 178.50 Goodall, Shante CTR (PHMSA) Culines Sent: From: Ciccarone, Michael CTR (PHMSA) 15-00102 Thursday, March 26, 2015 9:27 AM To: lazmat Interps Subject: W: Interpretation request 49CFR section 178.5 Attachments: DOT Interpertation request 4B longitudinal weld.pdf Shante/Alice, Please submit this for a formal letter of interpretation. Thanks, Mike From: David R. Bacca [mailto:d.bacca@authorizedtesting.com] Sent: Wednesday, March 25, 2015 8:02 PM To: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Subject: Interpretation request 49CFR section 178.50 Ahoy Sirs/Madame, I have attached a letter explaining the interpretation request. We have new cylinder manufacturing clients that are working with the 4B specification and require a clarification to the cylinder specification. Calm Seas and Fair Winds, David R. Bacca Program Manager / Executive Technical Assistant Main Office; Authorized Testing Inc., IA02 2522 Kansas Ave. Riverside, Ca 92507-2637 U.S.A. Tel: 951-682-4110 Fax: 951-682-6090 e-mail: d.bacca@authorizedtesting.com url: www.authorizedtesting.com "Contents of this communication are important, private, confidential and legally private. In the event of your recieving this message or a copy in error, please do not study the text, but inform the sender immediately and erase the documents) and attachments). Thank you for your corporation in this matter and please accept our appologies for any error and inconvenience." 1#

Page 4Sent by email: infocntr@dot.gov and letter communication Date March 23, 2015 To: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration United States Department of Transportation Attn: PHH-10 Washington, DC 20590-0001 East Building, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE From: Authorized Testing, Inc. 2522 Kansas Ave. Tel: Riverside, CA 92507-2637 Email: d.bacca@authorizedtesting.com 951-682-4110 Reference; 49 CFR Section 178.50(a). interpretation on the manufacture and continued use of DOT specification 4B cylinders manufactured without a longitudinal As an approved IIA (IA02) company for the manufacture of DOT pressure vessels, 1 am writing this letter to receive an weld as specified in the current 49CFR section 178.50(a). There are new 4B specification cylinders currently being manufactured that do not have a longitudinal weld. Background; wording in 178.50 was changed. Previously (approx. 2000) this section 178.50-2(a) read "Type and size. Must be welded or Somewhere around the time that the 49CFR was streamlined (early 2000 years) to reduce the number of pages, the 178.50(a) reads "Type, size, and service pressure. A DOT 4B is a welded or brazed steel cylinder with longitudinal seams brazed type; Longitudinal seams must be forged lap-welded or brazed;.....". Currently the new requirement of section that are ..... Conclusion; We believe the current wording was ill conceived and did not recognize the previously worded requirement did not require a referenced weld/brazing criteria. The current written requirement now requires the cylinder to have longitudinal seams that longitudinal weld but rather implied that if you elected to have a longitudinal weld it would be required to meet the are welded or brazed. With the current economic move of cylinder manufacturing relocating to foreign facilities outside the U. S. and the auditing of the manufacture and lIA by DOT field investigators prior to the issuing of an approval to manufacture, we had been informed by one of the agents that the current 4B specification requires a longitudinal weld or it would need to be a special permit cylinder if it does not have the longitudinal weld. Interpretation and Request; 1. To verify if a longitudinal weld is required in the cylinder of the current version of 49CFR 178.50, and, . If the longitudinal weld is required, are cylinders that were manufactured under the current 4B specification that did specification requirements.* not have the longitudinal weld are acceptable for further use or to be removed from service as not meeting the * Request actual date when change to 49CFR section 178.xx took place. Thank you for your time and consideration. Sincerely, VarioR Bacca David R. Bacca Program Mgr. / Exec. Tech. Assist. Authorized Testing, Inc.#