Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration JUL 1 3 2018 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Collin Mooney Executive Director Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance 6303 Ivy Lane, Suite 310 Greenbelt, MD 20770 Reference No. 18-0004 Dear Mr. Mooney: This letter is in response to your January 5, 2018, letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to documenting the criticality safety index (CSI) on shipping papers in accordance with§ 172.203(d)(6)(ii). You state that shipping paper requirements for consignments containing fissile materials are unclear because of recent changes to the definition of CSI in § 173 .403 and that it is your understanding that this definition does not apply to any part of the HMR other than Subpart I of Part 173. Specifically, you ask whether it is acceptable to show only the arithmetic sum of the CS Is for all the Class 7 fissile material packages in an overpack, freight container, consignment, or conveyance on a shipping paper in lieu of providing the CSI for each individual package. The answer is no. To comply with the additional description requirements in§ 172.203(d)(6)(ii), the CSI for each individual package of fissile material must be indicated on the shipping paper, rather than the arithmetic sum of packages in an overpack, freight container, consignment, or conveyance. The CSI for the individual packages in your consignment should be detennined in accordance with 10 CFR 71.22, 71.23, and 71.59, as outlined in§ 173.403. For purposes of requirements for the preparation of shipping papers,§ 172.201(a)(4) allows additional information concerning a material on a shipping paper if the information is not inconsistent with the required description and is placed after the basic description. I hope this infonnation is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sfficcr~ /~ ~~ Chief, Standards Development Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division#

Page 2C . 3~'-~ s~?\ ~~J~ / f{-Oao<? Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Improving unifo rmity in commercial motor vehicle safety and en fo rcem ent 1+1• January 5, 2018 Shane Kelley Acting Director Standard and Rulemaking (PHH-10) U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Ave., SE Washington, DC 20590 Dear Mr. Kelley, The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance (CVSA) Level VI Inspection Program instructors recently identified a potential problem with the definition of criticality safety index. The issue is outlined below. CVSA is a nonprofit association comprised of local, state, provincial, territorial and federal commercial motor vehicle safety officials and industry representatives. The Alliance aims to achieve uniformity, compatibility and reciprocity of commercial motor vehicle inspections and enforcement by certified inspectors dedicated to driver and vehicle safety. Our mission is to improve commercial motor vehicle safety and uniformity throughout Canada, Mexico and the United States, by providing guidance and education to enforcement, industry and policy makers. In 49 CFR §173.403 the definition of criticality safety index (CSI) was changed in 2014 as part of the global harmonization effort under HM-250. The new definition of CSI ends with : " ... CS/ for an overpack, freight container, consignment or conveyance containing fissile material packages is the arithmetic sum of the criticality safety indices of all the fissile material packages contained within the overpack, freight container, consignment or conveyance." This causes a potential issue with shipping papers. At the beginning of §173.403 the regulation states that these definitions are "for the purposes of this subpart" meaning the definition of CSI only applies to Subpart I (§173.401 - 477). §172.203(d)(6) requires that the CSI for each package be included in the additional shipping paper entries. According to the beginning of §173.403, the definition of CSI does not apply to any other subparts. CVSA requests an official interpretation on the question below: 6303 Ivy La ne, Sui te 310 Greenbe lt, Ma i yland 20770 30 1-830 ·6 1 43 www.cvsa org#

Page 3Question: For a consignment of multiple Class 7 packages, is it acceptable to only show the arithmetic sum of the criticality safety indices as defined in Subpart I on the shipping papers? Or do the regulations require the CSI of each package to be displayed separately, per §172.203(d)(6)? Additional clarity is needed in order to ensure that the matter is taught and enforced properly by roadside inspectors and the motor carrier industry has a clear understanding of the shipping paper requirements. CVSA works to closely monitor, evaluate and identify potentially unsafe transportation processes and procedures as well as to help facilitate and implement best practices for enhancing safety on our highways. Commercial motor vehicle safety continues to be a challenge and we need the involvement of all affected parties to help us better understand these issues and put into place practical solutions. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on this proposal and the agency's commitment to safety and stakeholder involvement. If you have further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact me by phone at 301-830- 6149 or by email at collinm@cvsa.org. Respectfully, Collin B. Mooney, MPA, CAE Executive Director Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance 2 6303 Ivy Lane, Sui te 310 Greenbe lt, Ma i yland 20770 30 1-830 -6 1 43 www.c vsa org#