{"operation":"document","citation":"16-0109","title":"Spectrum Techniques — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2016-10-19","effective_on":null,"summary":"16-0109 response to Spectrum Techniques concerning 171.8, 173.403, 173.433, 173.436.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-16-0109.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-16-0109.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-16-0109","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/2016/160109.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nof Transportation\nU.S. Department\nWashington, D.C. 20590\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nPipeline and Hazardous\nAdministration\nMaterials Safet\nOCT 1 9 2016\nDaniel M. Sims\nRadiation Protection Manager\npectrum Technique\n06 Union Valley Roa\nOak Ridge, TN 37830\nRef. No. 16-0109\nDear Mr. Sims:\nThis responds to your June 15, 2016 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials\nRegulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to hazardous materials training outlined\nin Part 172, Subpart H. Your questions are paraphrased and answered as follows:\nQ1. A customer was shipped a single 0.25 uCi Cs-137 radioactive check source. The check\nsource is considered an exempt consignment in accordance with § 173.436. Is the customer\nrequired to have hazardous materials training in accordance with Part 172, Subpart H in order\nto ship the material back to the manufacturer?\nAl.\nNo. As defined by § 173.403, a radioactive material means a material containing\nradionuclides where both the activity concentration and the total activity in the consignment\nexceed the values specified in the table in § 173.436 or values derived according to the\ninstructions in § 173.433. If the check source does not meet the definition of radioactive\nmaterial or any other hazard class, then it is not subject to the HMR. In this case, the customer\nwould not be subject to the training requirements in Part 172, Subpart H.\n02.\nA customer was shipped a single 5 uCi Cs-137 radioactive check source. The check\nsource exceeds the value specified in § 173.436 and is therefore not considered an exempt\nconsignment. Is the customer required to have hazardous materials training in accordance\nwith Part 172, Subpart H in order to ship the material back to the manufacturer?\nA2.\nNo, as long as the customer is not considered a hazmat employee as defined by\n§ 171.8. For purposes of the HMR, \"hazmat employee\" means a person who is employed by\na hazmat employer and who, in the course of employment, directly affects hazardous materials\ntransportation safety. An individual or private citizen does not meet the definition of a hazmat\nemployee and is not required to have hazardous materials training. However, an\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nindividual or private citizen must still comply with all applicable HMR requirements when\noffering hazardous materials to a commercial carrier for transportation in commerce. If the\ncustomer is considered a hazmat employee (e.g., a distributor, retailer, etc.), the person is fully\nsubject to the training requirements in Part 172, Subpart H.\nI trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nDirk Der Kinderen\nChief, Standards Development Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nCiccarone\n5172\nSPETECH\nSPECTRUM TECHNIQUES, L.L.C.\nTrauurg\n106 Union Valley Road\n166-0184\nOak Ridge, TN 37830\nTel: (865) 482-9937 Fax: (865) 483-0473\nWeb: www.spectrumtechniques.com\nEmail: sales@spectrumtechniques.com\nJune 15, 2016\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nPHMSA Office of Hazardous Materials Standards\nAttn: PHH-10\nEast Building\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE.\nWashington, DC 20590-0001\nSubject: Request for an interpretation on the need for the hazardous material training outlined in 49 CFR\n172 Subpart H.\nDear Director:\nI work for Spectrum Techniques and we are a manufacturer/distributor of radioactive check sources that\nfall under the U.S. NRC category of exempt material.\nOn occasion, we get customers that have ordered the wrong radioactive check source and want to\nreturn it. In discussion with numerous individuals, I have gotten conflicting answers regarding the need\nfor our customers to have received hazardous material training in order to ship a radioactive check\nsource back to us.\nThis letter is an official request for an interpretation on the need for the hazardous material training\noutlined in 49 CFR 172 Subpart H with regards to this matter.\nBelow are a couple of scenarios I would like to request clarification on:\nScenario 1:\nA customer ordered a single 0.25 uCi Cs-137 radioactive check source. The check source contains an\nexempt quantity of Cs-137 and is considered an exempt consignment per § 173.436. The customer\ndecided it was the wrong source and wants to return it to us.\nQuestion 1:\nThe 0.25 uCi Cs-137 radiation check source is considered non-hazardous because it cannot be defined as\nhazardous material by any other criteria and does not exceed the value specified for Cs-137 in table §\n173.436 (.27 uCi). Does our customer need to have received the hazmat training outlined in 49 CFR 172\nSubpart H to ship the radioactive check source back to us? Even if it considered non-hazardous?\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nScenario 2:\nA customer has ordered a single 5 uCi Cs-137 radioactive check source. The check source contains an\nexempt quantity of Cs-137, but is not considered an exempt consignment per § 173.436. The customer\ndecided it was the wrong source and wants to return it to us.\nQuestion 2:\nThe 5 uCi Cs-137 radioactive check source is considered hazardous material because it exceeds the value\nspecified for Cs-137 in table § 173.436 (.27 uCi). Does our customer need to have received the hazmat\ntraining outlined in 49 CFR 172 Subpart H to ship the radioactive check source back to us?\nlappreciate your consideration of these questions and the time and effort your organization takes to\nprovide guidance on questions such as mine. I look forward to your response.\nIf you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at d.sims@spectrumtechniques.com\nor 865-482-9937.\nRegards,\nDaniel M. Sims\nRadiation Protection Manager\nSpectrum Techniques","truncated":false,"body_characters":5653}