{"operation":"document","citation":"15-0203","title":"FIBA Technologies, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2016-03-29","effective_on":null,"summary":"15-0203 response to FIBA Technologies, Inc. concerning 171.7, 172.702, 172.704, 180.207.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0203.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0203.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-15-0203","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2016/150203.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nMaterials Safet\nipeline and Hazardou\nAdministration\nMAR 2 9 2016\nMr. Christopher R. Adams\nManager, Regulatory Affairs\nFIBA Technologies, Inc.\nP.O. Box 360\n1535 Grafton Road\nMillbury, MA 01527\nReference No. 15-0203\nDear Mr. Adams:\nThis letter is in response to your October 1, 2015, e-mail and letter requesting clarification of\nthe Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to training\nrequirements. Specifically, you refer to training for personnel who perform ultrasonic\nexaminations to requalify seamless steel cylinders and tubes and ask if the training\nrequirements for materials incorporated by reference in § 171.7(w) are acceptable under\n§§ 172.702(c) and 180.207(d)(1). We have paraphrased your questions and answered them in\nthe order you provided:\nQ1.\nAre personnel requalifying United Nations (UN) pressure receptacles in conformance\nwith ISO 6406(E) Gas cylinders—Seamless steel gas cylinders—Periodic inspection\nand testing, Second edition, February 2005 also required to comply with the\nqualification and experience requirements in ISO 9712 Non-destructive testing—\nQualification and certification of non-destructive testing personnel? ISO 9712 is\nreferenced in Clause 11.4.3.5 of ISO 6406 but is not specifically prescribed in\n§ 171.7?\nA1.\nThe answer is yes. Because ISO 6406(E) is incorporated by reference into the HMR\nunder § 171.7, one must comply with all the requirements prescribed in that standard,\nincluding the requirement to comply with ISO 9712, unless otherwise excepted under\nthe HMR. Based on your description, this would be considered function-specific\ntraining under § 172.704(a) (2).\nQ2.\nAre FIBA Technologies, Inc. staff authorized to perform periodic inspection and\ntesting of seamless steel gas cylinders using the ultrasonic examination method\napplied in conformance with ISO 6406, excepting that the equipment shall be operated\nby, and its operation supervised by, personnel qualified and certified in conformance\nwith The American Society for Non-destructive Testing (ASNT) Recommended\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nPractice No. SNT-TC-1A, Personnel Qualification and Certification in\nNondestructive Testing? This recommended practice is not prescribed in the HMR.\nA2.\nThe answer is no. Please refer to Answer Al. FIBA is not authorized to perform\ntesting using personnel certified only to ASNT. Personnel must also be certified in\naccordance with ISO 9712.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nT. Glenn Foster\nChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nEdmonson\n$/ 71,7\nRefeuence Mateuc\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA)\n15-0203\nFrom:\nGeller, Shelby CTR (PHMSA)\nSent:\nTuesday, October 13, 2015 11:19 AM\nTo:\nSubject:\nHazmat Interps\nFW: FIBA Request for Letter of Interpretation Regarding UE Personnel Qualification\nAttachments:\nFIBA Request for Letter of Interpretation Regarding NDT Training.pdf\nDear Shante and Alice,\nI also wanted to follow up on this request as I could not find it in the database.\nThanks,\nShelby\nFrom: Geller, Shelby CTR (PHMSA)\nTo: Hazmat Interps\nSent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 3:53 PM\nSubject: FW: FIBA Request for Letter of Interpretation Regarding UE Personnel Qualification\nDear Shante and Alice,\nForwarded is a formal request for a letter of interpretation.\nThanks,\nShelby\nFrom: Chris Adams [mailto:ChrisAdams@fibatech.com]\nSent: Thursday, October 01, 2015 3:30 PM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA\nSubject: FIBA Request for Letter of Interpretation Regarding UE Personnel Qualification\nTo Whom It May Concern:\nAttached is a request for a formal letter of interpretation from your office regarding questions we have regarding\ntraining and qualifications of persons performing requalification of UN pressure receptacles. Please kindly confirm your\nreceipt of this letter. Do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or need any additional information.\nVery truly yours,\nChristopher R. Adams\nManager, Regulatory Affairs\nFIBA Technologies, Inc.\n.....\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nP.O. Box 360\nFIBA TECHNOLOGIES, INC.\n1535 Grafton Road\nCHIBA\nMillbury, MA 01527 U.S.A.\nFax: (508) 754-2254\nTel: (508) 887-7100\nwww.fibatech.com\nQUALITY PRODUCTS-SERVICE\nOctober 1, 2015\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nEast Building\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590-0001\nATTN: Hazardous Materials Information Center\nE-Mail: infocntr@dot.gov\nSUBJECT: Request for a Letter of Interpretation\nREF: 49 CPR §8171.7(w), 172.702(c) and 180.207(d)(1)\nTo Whom It May Concern:\nFIBA Technologies, Inc. (\"FIBA\") holds numerous requalifier identification numbers (see attached Exhibit A) and each\nspecial permits authorizing the use of NDT methods (rather than hydrostatic testing) to requalify cylinders and tubes (see\nof these locations has personnel trained and certified to perform nondestructive testing (NDT) in accordance with several\nattached Exhibit B). FIBA is a leader in the application of acoustic emission testing (AET) and ultrasonic examination\n(UE) to the requalification of seamless steel cylinders and tubes and has been so for many years. FIBA has been an active\nparticipant in the Compressed Gas Association (CGA) since 1977 and the FIBA Level III is a member of the American\nSociety for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT).\nI am writing to ask that your office provide FIBA with a formal Letter of Interpretation regarding a matter of training\nrequirements. 49 CFR §180.207(d)(1) states:\nrequalified in accordance with ISO 6406 (IBR, see §171.7 of this subchapter). However, UN cylinders with a tensile\n\"Seamless steel: Each seamless steel UN pressure receptacle, including MEG's pressure receptacles, must be\nstrength greater than or equal to 950 MPa must be requalified by ultrasonic examination in accordance with ISO 6406. \"\nIt is the position of FIBA that its UE technicians and managers, who are trained in accordance with ASNT Recommended\nrequalify seamless steel gas cylinders and tubes according to ISO 6406, Gas cylinders - Seamless steel gas cylinders —\nPractice No. SNT-TC-1A, Personnel Qualification and Certification in Nondestructive Testing, are authorized by DOT to\nPeriodic inspection and testing, even if they are not trained and certified according to ISO standard 9712, Non-destructive\ntesting - Qualification and certification of NDT personnel.\nCertification of NDT personnel in accordance with ASNT is recognized not only by the USA, but also world-wide,\nincluding countries within the European Union. Training offered by authorized testing facilities often utilizes reference\nmaterials produced by ASNT. For example, Lavender International in the United Kingdom lists ASNT training materials\nand references on their web site. ASNT materials are used by training providers in the USA, including Hellier, which has\nbeen widely respected for more than forty years as a leading provider of NDT training and Level Ill services. Reference\nthe required training courses.\nand training materials produced by ASNT are used by agencies in the United States and the European Union to develop\nSERVING THE INDUSTRY SINCE 1958\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nFIBA Request for Letter of Interpretation Regarding UE Personnel Qualification\nISO 9712 mandates that an independent third party Level III be responsible for the certification, whereas ASNT\nis conducted by an independent third party and ASNT testing is conducted by the employer or his designated Level III.\ncertification is an employer-based certification provided by an employer-designated Level III. Likewise, testing for ISO\nTo require USA-based companies, who are currently using training and certification practices that have been in place for\n40 years, to seek another certification from an overseas third party in order to comply with a European standard such as\nISO 9712 when performing requalification in the USA would be a regrettable step for the DOT to take and an expensive\none for US companies to comply with. It's bordering on being a barrier to free trade. FIBA has investigated the cost of\ngetting its technicians certified to ISO 9712 and found that it would be approximately $6,500 for a seasoned technician\nand as much as $20,000 for a trainee. (Currently, there are no USA-based, approved training centers. Thus, technicians\nwould travel to Europe for the training. It's anticipated that a \"seasoned\" inspector would still require 10 days of training\nand testing, while a new recruit would require as many as 24 days.) Obviously, this would be an expense to add to what\nFIBA has already invested in training and certification of its UE technicians (estimated to be approximately $22,540 per\ninspector).\nFIBA notes that 49 CFR §172.702(c) states: \"Training may be provided by the hazmat employer or other public or\nprivate sources.\" Additionally, it is noted that not all the ISO documents identified as normative references in ISO 6406\nare listed as reference material in 49 CFR §171.7(W). ISO 11114-1 and ISO 11621 are referenced, but ISO 13341, ISO\n13769 and, most notably, ISO 9712 are not referenced. It seems that your office specifically did not reference these\ndocuments because CGA standards adequately address the fitting of valves, 49 CFR §§178 and 180 stipulate stamp\nmarking requirements, and the numerous NDT special permits released by DOT specify NDT training requirements.\nFinally, I will take this opportunity to tell you that many members of the CGA Cylinder Specification Committee are\nparticipating on work item 13-043, which is tasked with writing a CGA document to provide members and, potentially,\nDOT regulators with guidelines for training, qualification, and certification of personnel performing periodic\nrequalification. While not yet completed, this document is fundamentally based on the premise that US companies will\nhave the ability to use in-house training, provided minimum standards for course content, training hours, experience,\nrecord-keeping, etc. are fulfilled.\nQUESTIONS:\n1. Is it the DOT's intention that personnel performing requalification of UN pressure receptacles in accordance with\nreferenced in Clause 11.4.3.5 of ISO 6406?\nISO 6406 also be required to comply with the qualification and experience requirements of ISO 9712, which is\n2. Is FIBA authorized to perform periodic inspection and testing of seamless steel gas cylinders using ultrasonic\nexamination applied in accordance with ISO 6406, excepting that the equipment shall be operated by, and its\noperation supervised by, personnel qualified and certified in accordance with ASNT SNT-TC-1A?\nWe look forward to learning of your interpretation. We hope that you'll recognize the NDT qualification and certification\nhesitate to contact me.\npractices of the USA for the past nearly 40 years. If you have any questions or need any other information, please do not\nSincerely,\nchok\nChristopher R. Adams\nManager, Regulatory Affairs\nTEL: 774-696-3459\nFIBA Technologies, Inc.\nE-Mail: chrisadams@fibatech.com\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\nEXHIBIT A\nFIBA REQUALIFICATION FACILITIES\nLittleton, MA: FIBA Technologies, Inc., 53 Ayer Road, Littleton, MA 01460, U.S.A. This facility holds U.S.\nDOT manufacturer registration number M6235 as well as requalifier identification number (RIN) 1441. This\nLittleton, MA facility also holds ASME U Certificate Number 48,231 and U.S. DOT Approval CA2008090018\nauthorizing manufacture of various UN ISO 11120 specification tubes.\nMillbury, MA: FIBA Technologies, Inc., 1535 Grafton Road, Millbury, MA 01527, U.S.A. This facility holds\nU.S. DOT manufacturer registration number M5635 as well as RIN A748. This Millbury, MA facility also holds\nASME U, U2 and U3 Certificate Numbers 34,410, 45,218 and 36,419 respectively and U.S. DOT and CT\nNumbers 1177346 and 3455 respectively.\nLouisville, KY: FIBA Technologies, Inc., 1120 Industrial Blvd., Louisville, KY 40219, U.S.A. This facility\nholds U.S. DOT RIN B935. This Louisville, KY facility also holds ASME U Certificate Number 24,061 and U.S.\nDOT and CT Numbers 1177346 and 589 respectively.\nRayne, LA: FIBA Technologies, Inc., 245 Lexington Drive, Rayne, LA 70578, U.S.A. This facility holds U.S.\nDOT RIN C290. This facility holds U.S. DOT and CT Numbers 1177346 and 3583 respectively.\nfacility holds U.S. DOT RIN D031. This facility holds U.S. DOT and CT Numbers 1177346 and 7272\nEast Greenville, PA: FIBA Technologies, Inc., 1645 State Street, East Greenville, PA 18041, U.S.A. This\nrespectively.\nMidvale, OH: FIBA Technologies, Inc., 3211 Brightwood Road, Midvale, OH 44653, U.S.A. This facility holds\nU.S. DOT RIN I216 and ASME U certificate number 45,886. This facility holds U.S. DOT and CT Numbers\n1177346 and 12951 respectively.\nAdelanto, CA: FIBA Technologies, Inc., 17909 Adelanto Road, Adelanto, CA 92301, U.S.A. This facility holds\nU.S. DOT RIN I521. This facility holds U.S. DOT and CT Numbers: 1177346 and 12877 respectively.\n\n<<<PAGE 7>>>\n\nEXHIBIT B\nFIBA SPECIAL PERMITS FOR REQUALIFICATION\nDOT-SP 9847: Acoustic Emission Testing - 3A, 3AA, 3AX, 3AAX, 3T Cylinders, non-DOT Cylinders\n(made under SP 13230 and 13258) and DOT UN Tubes (made in accordance with ISO 11120) - 5-Year\n(10-year for DOT UN tubes transporting Division 2.1 and 2.2 gases).\nDOT-SP 10922: Ultrasonic Examination - 3A, 3AA, 3AX, 3AAX, 3T Cylinders and DOT UN Tubes\n(made in accordance with ISO 11120) - 5-Year (10-year for DOT UN tubes transporting Division 2.1\nand 2.2 gases).\nDOT-SP 12607: Ultrasonic Examination - 3AL Cylinders.\nDOT-SP 14453: Ultrasonic Examination - 3A, 3AA, 3AX, ЗAAX and 3T Tubes and Cylinders - 10-\nYear.\nDOT-SP 14661: Acoustic Emission Testing - 3A, 3AA, 3AX, 3AAX and 3T Tubes and Cylinders -\n10-Year.\nDOT-SP 15867: Acoustic Emission Testing - DOT-107A Tank Car Tanks (Tubes) - 10-Year.","truncated":false,"body_characters":13884}