{"operation":"document","citation":"19-0114","title":"Entegris, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2020-05-06","effective_on":null,"summary":"19-0114 response to Entegris, Inc. concerning 173.22, 173.29.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0114.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0114.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-19-0114","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/73811/190114.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nMay 6, 2020\nMr. James V. McManus\nPrincipal Engineer\nDangerous Goods Safety Advisor\nEntegris, Inc.\n7 Commerce Drive\nDanbury, CT 06810\nReference No. 19-0114\nDear Mr. McManus:\nThis letter is in response to your September 24, 2019, letter requesting clarification of the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to empty\npackagings. Specifically, you ask whether a 50-liter Department of Transportation (DOT) 3AA-\n2400 specification cylinder containing “UN 2199, Phosphine, 2.3 (poisonous gas), 2.1\n(flammable gas),” residue is subject to the HMR after the cylinder is cleaned of residue and\npurged of vapors using a vacuum pump and nitrogen purging.\nYou state the 100 ppmv phosphine/nitrogen mixture within the cylinder has a calculated LC50 of\n200,000 ppm and the pressure within the cylinder is less than 200 kPa (29.0 psig/43.8 psia) at\n20 ºC (68 ºF). You seek confirmation that the gas mixture you describe is not subject to the\nHMR.\nSection 173.22 states it is the responsibility of the shipper to classify a hazardous material.\nHowever, based on the information you provided, this Office agrees that a phosphine/nitrogen\nmixture within a cylinder that has a calculated LC50 of 200,000 ppm and a pressure less than\n200 kPa does not meet the definition of a Division 2.1 or Division 2.3 material under the HMR.\nParagraphs (b)(2)(ii) and (iii) of § 173.29 state a packaging that is sufficiently cleaned of residue\nand purged of vapors to remove any potential hazard, or that is refilled with a material that is not\nsubject to the HMR to the extent that any residue that remains in the packaging no longer poses\nany hazard, is not subject to the requirements of the HMR.\nI hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.\nSincerely,\nT. Glenn FosterChief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA)\nFrom: INFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nSent:\nWednesday, September 25, 2019 10:46 AM\nTo:\nHazmat Interps\nSubject: FW: Request for Interpretation\nAttachments: Entegris Request for Interpretation 49 CFR Section 173.29 Empty Packaging.pdf\nHello Alice and lkeya,\nPlease see attached for letter of interpretation request. The requester sent in for a letter and Josh called to provide\nletters 15-0157 and 18-0011 which we deemed relevant. The requestor said that the 15 letter was close, however, he is\nstill going through with this letter request since his material is a 2.3 and he wants that specifically addressed.\nPlease contact our office with any questions.\nThanks,\nKathryn, HMIC\nFrom: Jim McManus [mailto:Jim.McManus@entegris.com]\nSent: Tuesday, September 24, 2019 4:15 PM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) <INFOCNTR.INFOCNTR@dot.gov>\nSubject: Request for Interpretation\nNotes from Josh's call with Jim 9/25/19:\n-Has 2.3 material-toxic by inhalation\n-wants a letter specific to this hazard class\n-there is a complex calculation in this situation\n-a lot of people will mistakenly classify this material as hazmat even when its considered empty\nDear Sir or Madame:\nPursuant to 49 CFR §105.20, this letter is being submitted by e-mail to PHMSA to request an interpretation of a question\nI have related to §173.29 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). Specifically, the question is related to a DOT\nspecification cylinder package containing the residue of UN2199, phosphine and whether the package is subject to the\nrequirements of the HMR after a cleaning and purging process.\nI greatly appreciates PHMSA's attention to this matter and look forward to a response that furthers my understanding of\nthe Hazardous Materials Regulations.\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nShould PHMSA require additional details to process this interpretation, please contact me using the information listed\nbelow.\nRegards,\nJim\nJim McManus\nPrincipal Engineer\nDangerous Goods Safety Advisor (DGSA)\nM 203-482-1606\nT 203-207-9307\nE jim .mcmanus@entegris.com\nentegris.com\n50 YEARS OF PURE ADVANTAGE\n7 Commerce Drive\nDanbury, CT 06810 United\nStates\nCONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: The contents of this email message and any attachments are intended solely for the\naddressee(s) and may contain confidential and/or privileged information and may be legally protected from disclosure. If\nyou are not the intended recipient of this message or their agent, or if this message has been addressed to you in error,\nplease immediately alert the sender by reply email and then delete this message and any attachments. If you are not the\nintended recipient, you are hereby notified that any use, dissemination, copying, or storage of this message or its\nattachments is strictly prohibited.\n2\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n0;. Entegris\nSpecialty Gas and Engineere d Materials\n7 Commerce Drive\nDanbury, CT06810\n800.766.2681 T oll-F ree\n203.794.1100 Direct\n203.792.8040 Facsimile\nwww.entegris.com\nSeptember 24, 2019\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Attn: PHH-10\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nEast Building\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590-0001\ninfocntr@dot.gov\nRe: Request for Interpretation\nDear Sir or Madame:\nPursuant to 49 CFR §105.20, this letter is being submitted by e-mail to PHMSA to request an interpretation\nof a question I have related to §173.29 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). Specifically, the\nquestion is related to a DOT specification cylinder packagecontainingthe residue of UN2199, phosphine and\nwhether the package is subject to the requirements of the HMR after a cl ea ni ng and purging process.\nCylinder Cleaning and Purging Process\nA 50 liter DOT-3AA 2400 cylinder package contains the residue of UN 2199, phosphine. The cylinder\npackage is cleaned of residues and purged of vapors using a vacuum pump and nitrogen purging to\nremove any potential hazard such that the cylinder package should not be subject to the requirements\nof the Hazardous Materials Regulations as it conforms with provisions (ii) and (iii) of §173.29(b)(2).\nAfter the cleaning and purging process, the remaining gas within the cylinder is analyzed and found to\ncontain 100 parts-per-million by volume (ppmv) of phosphine and the remaining balance of gas in the\ncylinder is nitrogen. The pressure of the phosphine/nitrogen gas mixture contained in the cylinder is\n103.4 kPa (15 psig) at 20 °C (68 °F).\nIn order to determine if the cylinder contents pose any potential hazard, the toxicity of the\nphosphine/nitrogen gas mixture is determined using the method of calculation specified for gas\nmixtures in §173.11S(c)(2).\n§173.115(c)(2) specifies that the LC50 values for mixtures may be determined using the formula in\n§173.133(b)(1)(i) or CGA P-20 (I BR, see §171. 7).\nThe formula given in CGA P-20 for determining the LC50 of a binary mixture is as follows:\nppmLCso of toxiccomponent .x 1000 000\nppm of toxic component\nAs the LCso for pure phosphine is 20 ppm, the LC50 for the 100 ppmv phosphine/nitrogen mixture described\nabove is calculated as follows:\nLC50 phosphine/nitrogen mixture= 20 ppm/100 ppm x 1000 000 = 200,000ppm\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nClassification of Cleaned and Purged Cylinder\n§173.116 assigns the four hazard zones for Division 2.3 materials depending on the LC50 of the gas. The\ncriteria used to determine the hazard zone for a Division 2.3 material is shown in the table below:\nHazard zone Inhalation toxicity\nA LC 50 less than or equal to 200 ppm.\nB LC50 greater than 200 ppm and less than or equal to 1000 ppm.\nC LC50 greater than 1000 ppm and less than or equal to 3000 ppm.\nD LC50 greater than 3000 ppm or less than or equal to 5000 ppm.\nFor a gas to be considered Division 2.3 material, it must fall within one of the four hazard zones. A material\nwith an inhalation toxicity > 5000 ppm would fall outside this criteria and would not be considered a\nDivision 2.3 material.\nTherefore, I conclude the phosphine/nitrogen mixture is not classified as a hazardous material for the\nfollowing reasons:\n✓ The calculated LC50 (200,000 ppm) for the phosphine/nitrogen mixture does not fall within any of\nthe hazard zone criteria and therefore the 100 ppm phosphine/nitrogen mixture would not be\nclassified as a Division 2.3 material.\n✓ Since the pressure of the phosphine/nitrogen mixture inside the cylinder is less than 200 kPa (29.0\npsig/43.8 psia) at 20 °C (68 °F), it would not be classified as a Division 2.2 material.\nQuestion :\nBased on the information in the preceding discussion, does PHMSA agree with the following statement?\nSince the 100 ppmv phosphine/nitrogen mixture has a calculated LC50 of 200,000 ppm and the cylinder\npressure is less than 200 kPa (29. 0 psig/43. 8 psia) at 20 °C (68 °F}, the gas mixture contained in the cylinder\nshould not be subject to the Hazardous Materials Regulations.\nI greatly appreciates PH MSA's attention to this matter and look forward to a response that furthers my\nunderstanding of the Hazardous Materials Regulations.\nShould PHMSA require additional details to process this interpretation, please contact me using the\ninformation listed below.\nSincerely,\n(\\ d o,iw/ V 1)1_ ( U{ -\nJames (Jim) V. McManus\nPrincipal Engineer\nDangerous Goods Safety Advisor (DGSA)\nEntegris Inc.\nM 203-482-1606 0 203-207-9307","truncated":false,"body_characters":9330}