{"operation":"document","citation":"15-0133","title":"National Steel Car Limited — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2015-10-21","effective_on":null,"summary":"15-0133 response to National Steel Car Limited concerning 179.16, 179.22.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0133.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0133.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0133","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2015/150133.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\n1200 New Jersey Avenue SE\nof Transportation\nWashington. DC 20590\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\nOCT 2 1 2015\nMr. Max Vanderby\nDirector of Production Engineering\nNational Steel Car Limited\n600 Kenilworth Ave. North\nP.O. Box 2450\nHamilton, Ontario LN 3J4\nRef. No.: 15-0133\nDear Mr. Vanderby:\nThis responds to your June 25, 2015 letter and subsequent phone call with a member of my\nstaff regarding tank car head puncture resistance and tank car specifications under the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR Parts 171-180). Your questions are paraphrased\nand answered below.\nQ1. You ask if a tank car built with a 9/16 in thick shell of TC128 material with ½ in full\nhead shields is compliant with § 179.16(c)(1) and does not require the full scale testing\noutlined in § 179.16(a)?\nA1. Yes, assuming the head shield is shaped to the contour of the tank and the head shield\nsteel has a tensile strength greater than 379.21 N/mm? (55,000 psi), the tank car meets the\nrequirements of § 179.16(c)(1) and does not require the full scale testing outlined in\n§ 179.16(a).\nQ2. Would the car mentioned in Q1 above have to undergo physical testing to demonstrate\ncompliance with the impact test requirements for head shield attachments in Section 5.3 of\nthe AAR Specifications for Tank Cars given in § 179.16(c)(2)? Or is there alternative\ncompliance by other than testing methods to demonstrate compliance with this impact test?\nA2. As required by § 179.16(c)(2) and section 5.3.1.2 of the AAR Specifications for Tank\nCars new and untried designs of head shield attachments must meet the design and test\nrequirements of the full-head protection (shields) impact test requirements in Section 5.3 of\nthe AAR Specifications for Tank Cars.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nQ3. Would this car then be a DOT117J100W1 due to the addition of full head shields and\nthermal protection?\nA3. Yes, for a DOT Specification 117 tank car built on or after October 1, 2015 in\nconformance with § 179.202. The marking requirements for tank cars are found in\n§ 179.22. Section 179.22(c) states that \"each tank car that requires a tank-head puncture-\nsubstituted for the letter \"A\" or \"S\" in the specification marking\".\nresistance system, a thermal protection system, and a metal jacket must have the letter \"J\"\nI hope this answers your inquiry. If you need additional assistance, please contact the\nStandards and Rulemaking Division at (202) 366-8553.\nSincer\nBen Supko\nSenior Regulations Officer\nstandards and Kulemaking Divisior\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nWebb\n17,9.16\nGoodall, Shante CTR (PHMSA)\nLank Cars\nFrom:\nBetts, Charles (PHMSA)\n15-0133\nSent:\nFriday, June 26, 2015 3:40 PM\nTo:\nHazmat Interps\nAttachments:\nPHMSA letter Tank Head Puncture Resist mav June 25-15.pdf\nPlease assign this as a HIGH PRIORITY to a specialist for response.\nThanks,\nCharles\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n(100 YEARS\nMAX VANDERBY\nTOES OF RELATE\nDIRECTOR, PRODUCTION ENGINEERING\nNATIONAL STEEL CAR LIMITED\n600 Kenilworth Avenue North\nHAMILTON, ONTARIO L&N 3J+\nP.O. Box 2450\nFAX: (905) 514-9878\nEXT. 3262\nRAIL TRANSP\nE-MAIL: vanderbym@steelcar.com\nNATIONAL STEEL CAR\n1912-2012)\nJune 25, 2015\nCharles Betts\nDirector, Standards and Rulemaking\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nEast Building, 2nd Floor\n1200 New Jersey Ave., SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nRe: DOT 117 Tank Car Puncture Head Resistance, interpretation of 49 CFR § 179-16\nDear Mr. Charles Betts,\nNational Steel Car would like to request from PHMSA clarification to Specification 49 CFR\n§ 179.16 regarding the standard for Tank Car head puncture resistance. The FRA interprets any\nTank Car built with a 9/16 in thick shell of TC128 material with 1/2 in full head shields is\ncompliant with 49 CFR § (1) (c) (not requiring full scale testing outlined in 49 CFR § 179.16 (a)\n(1 - 3)); therefore, the car is a DOT117J100W1 due to the addition of full head shields and thermal\nprotection.\nWe appreciate if you could confirm the interpretation of this specification.\nSincerely:\nDo Varily.\nMax Vanderby\nDirector of Production Engineering\nNATIONAL STEEL CAR LIMITED\ncc: Ken Dorsey, Karl Alexy, Jamal Hematian, Ken Black","truncated":false,"body_characters":4176}