{"operation":"document","citation":"19-0041","title":"Dangerous Goods Advisory Council — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2019-08-01","effective_on":null,"summary":"19-0041 response to Dangerous Goods Advisory Council concerning 172.101, 173.185, 173.6.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0041.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0041.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0041","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/71906/190041.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nAUG O 1 2019\nDel Billings\nTechnical Director\nDangerous Goods Advisory Council\n7501 Greenway Center Drive, Suite 760\nGreenbelt, MD 20770\nReference No. 19-0041\nDear Mr. Billings:\nThis letter is in response to your April 1, 2019, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to Materials of Trade (MOTs).\nIn your email, you note the MOT provisions in§ 173.6(a)(l) provide for package gross mass\nlimits for materials in packing groups (PG) I, II, III, and for Other Regulated Materials (ORM-\nD). You also note that hazardous materials without a packing group assigned, such as lithium\nbatteries, do not have a gross mass indicated. You ask whether it was PHMSA's intent to\nexclude articles from MOTs eligibility and, if not, you request guidance on determining package\ngross mass limitations for articles such as lithium batteries.\nIn a final rule published in the Federal Register on January 8, 2015, [80 FR 1075], the Pipeline\nand Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) removed packing group assignments\nfrom the § 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table (HMT) entries for many articles ( e.g. UN3480,\nLithium ion batteries). In the preamble of the final rule we stated \"For articles, the packing\ngroup does not relate to the degree of hazard posed by the material but rather is assigned\ngenerically to the article.\" The revisions to the HMT were made to provide consistency for all\narticles listed in the HMT.\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nIt was not our intention in the HM-215M rulemaking to remove articles, such as lithium\nbatteries, from MOTs eligibility. However, under the MOTs exceptions in§ 173.6, the packing\ngroup assignment is used to determine the maximum gross mass or capacity of a completed\npackage. Because lithium batteries are generally required to be offered in a packaging meeting\nthe PG II performance level as prescribed in § 173. l 85(b )(3 )(ii), lithium batteries transported as\nMOTs are subject to the same quantity limitations as a PG II hazardous material (30 kg). Thank\nyou for bringing this to our attention. We intend to clarify this matter in a future rulemaking\naction.\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\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA)\nFrom:\nSent:\nTo:\nSubject: DerKinderen, Dirk (PHMSA)\nMonday, April 01, 2019 7:30 AM\nHazmat Interps\nFW: § 173.6 Materials of Trade\nAlice and lkeya,\nPlease enter the below email from De l Bil lings into our system as request for an interpretation.\nSinccrcl:-.\nD r,rk, Der K i.,vuler0¥v\nFrom: Kelley, Shane (PHMSA)\nSent: Friday, March 29, 2019 11:25 AM\nTo: DerKinderen, Dirk (PHMSA) <Dirk.DerKinderen@dot.gov>\nCc: Foster, Glenn (PHMSA) <Glenn.Foster@dot.gov>\nSubject: Fwd:§ 173.6 Materials ofTrade\nHi Dirk\nCan you pkease review and if this needs to be treated as an interp, have it logged in appropriately?\nThank you\nFrom: Delmer Billings <dbillings@dgac.org>\nSent: Thursday, March 28, 2019 3:38 PM\nTo: Kelley, Shane (PHMSA)\nCc: Delmer Billings\nSubject:§ 173.6 Materials of Trade\nShane,\nThank you for the opportunity to speak with you today regarding the provisions in§ 173.6 - Materials of Trade for Class\n9 and other class/division materials for which a packing group is not listed in the Hazardous Materials Table. The specific\nmaterials in question various lithium battery entries which do not list a packing group. The provisions in§ 173.6(a)(l)\nprovide for packaging gross mass limits for materials in packing group I and packing groups II and Ill and for ORM-0\nmaterials. However, there is no current guidance on the maximum gross mass for materials in Class 9 without a listed\npacking group.\nWe are requesting guidance on what packaging gross mass limits exist for these materials. We recommend that such\nguidance should be consistent with the gross mass limits for the packing group II and Ill materials. Additionally, a minor\nregulatory revision could clarify this issue. For example the regulatory limits in§ 173.6(a)(l)((ii) could be revised to\nread : 30 kg (66 pounds) or 30 L (8 gallons) for a Packing Group II, Pacing Group Ill, or ORM-D material, or a Class 9\nmaterial for which a Packing Group is not indicated.\nThank you for your guidance and if we can provide additional information or respond to any questions, please contact\nme.\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nDel\nDel Billings\nTechnical Director\nDangerous Goods Advisory Council\n7501 Greenway Center Drive, Suite 760\nGreenbelt, MD 20770\nPhone: 202/289-4550\nFax: 202/289-407 4\nhttp:// www.dgac.org\nFollow us on Twitter @DGAC HMAC\n2","truncated":false,"body_characters":4817}