# New York State Police — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **operation:** document - **citation:** 20-0017 - **title:** New York State Police — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation - **source type:** guidance - **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration - **status:** guidance - **official:** true - **published on:** 2020-05-22 - **effective on:** Not available - **summary:** 20-0017 response to New York State Police concerning 172.202. - **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0017.json - **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0017.md - **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0017 - **source url:** https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/73996/200017.pdf **body:** <<>> U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 May 22, 2020 Robert A. Kidder Technical Sergeant New York State Police State Route 7, Box 300 Sidney, NY 13838 Reference No. 20-0017 Dear Sergeant Kidder: This letter is in response to your February 20, 2020, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the requirements for hazardous materials (hazmat) shipping papers. Specifically, you ask whether certain abbreviations indicated on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Form 8700-22 would comply with the requirements of the HMR to include the type of packaging and unit of measurement on the hazmat shipping paper. We have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows: Q1. You ask whether “DF” as indicated on EPA Form 8700-22 is an acceptable abbreviation for a “plastic drum” when describing the packaging type on a hazmat shipping paper. A1. Section 172.202(a)(7) of the HMR requires that the number and type of packages be entered as part of the shipping description on a hazmat shipping paper. This section allows for the use of abbreviations to indicate the type of packaging provided the abbreviations are commonly accepted and recognizable. Although the abbreviation “DF” is commonly used on EPA hazardous waste manifests to indicate the presence of plastic and/or fiberboard drums, it may not be easily recognizable without the use of a legend or list of abbreviations. Therefore, to avoid confusion in the enforcement or emergency response community that may result in the issuance of a ticket or frustration of the shipment, it is recommended that a legend of EPA’s abbreviations be included on the hazmat shipping paper. Q2. You ask whether “P” as indicated on EPA Form 8700-22 is an acceptable abbreviation for “pounds” when describing the total quantity of liquid hazardous material on a hazmat shipping paper. A2. Section 172.202(a)(5) of the HMR requires that the total quantity, including the unit of measurement of the hazardous materials covered by the description, be included on a hazmat shipping paper (except for bulk packages, cylinders, and packages containing <<>> only hazardous material residue). Abbreviations may also be used to express units of measurement. Similar to Answer A1, although the abbreviation “P” is commonly used on EPA hazardous waste manifests to indicate total weight in pounds, it may not be easily recognizable without the use of a legend or list of abbreviations. Therefore, to avoid confusion in the enforcement or emergency response community that may result in the issuance of a ticket or frustration of the shipment, it is recommended that a legend of EPA’s abbreviations be included on the hazmat shipping paper. I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, T. Glenn Foster Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division <<>> Ballengee Dodd, Alice (PHMSA) From: Sent: To: Subject: Attachments: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) Thursday, February 20, 2020 11 :41 AM Hazmat lnterps FW: PHMSA Written Request for Interpretation Shipping document subject of Roadside stop (NYSPC0213647).pdf; Kidder_LOI_ 2-20-20.docx Hello Alice and lkeya, Please see below for letter of interpretation request. Thank you, Kathryn, HMIC From: KIDDER, ROBERT (TROOPERS) [mailto:ROBERT.KIDDER@troopers.ny.gov] Sent: Thursday, February 20, 2020 10:59 AM To: PHMSA HM lnfoCenter Subject: PHMSA Written Request for Interpretation Please allow this email to serve as a request for formal written interpretation from PHMSA concerning the use of abbreviations for packaging types and applicable units of measurement on a Hazardous Materials Shipping Paper. 1.) In the following case, is it acceptable for the shipper to use the letter designation as "DF" as an abbreviation for the packaging type of a plastic drum, while being shipped on a Hazardous Materials Shipping Paper? 2.) In the following case, is it acceptable for the shipper use the letter "P" as an abbreviation for "pounds" on a shipment of liquid hazardous material, while being shipped on a Hazardous Materials Shipping Paper? In this case (reference the attached Hazardous Materials Shipping Paper) the material being shipped was listed on a generic Hazardous Materials Shipping Paper and was not presented on a Hazardous Waste Manifest (EPA form 8700-22). The HMSP in box 12 lists the Container Type in rows 2 and 3 as "DF". During the HM inspection, the packaging type was determined to be a plastic drum with a removable head (1H2). 172.202(a)(7) specifies that the number and type of packages must be indicated. The type of packages must be indicated by description of the package (for example, "12 drums"). Indication of the packaging specification number ("lHl") may be included in the description of the package (for example, "12 lHl drums" or "12 drums (UN lAl)"). Abbreviations may be used for indicating packaging types (for example, "cyl." for "cylinder") provided the abbreviations are commonly accepted and recognizable. The HMSP in Box 14 lists the header as "Unit Wt./Vol." with the designation of "P" in the 3 rows below. While 172.202(c)(l) specifies that 'Abbreviations may be used to express units of measurement and types of packagings', the position of the inspector of this shipment is that the letter "P" as a unit of weight or volume is not commonly accepted and recognizable and that he had no way of determining if the designation was in fact an abbreviation for "P" for Pounds or was in fact an abbreviation for "P" for Pints (as the shipment was a liquid). While the EPA Hazardous Waste Manifest (form 8700-22) requires the use of specific abbreviations for units of measure such as P=Pounds, N=Cubic Meters and M=Metric Tons, and requires separate abbreviations for packaging types such as 1 <<>> DF=Fiberboard or plastic drums, barrels, kegs or CF=Fiber or plastic boxes, cartons, or cases, an abbreviation guide is included on the back of the form for reference. It is our position that the use of these letters from EPA Form 8700-22 as abbreviations for packaging types and applicable units of measurement on generic Hazardous Materials Shipping Papers are not commonly accepted and recognizable, can be easily misinterpreted without the inclusion of a reference table, and should not be used on the HMSP. Thank you. Robert A. Kidder Technical Sergeant, Troop C Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Unit New York State Police State Route 7, Box 300 Sidney New York 13838 607-561-7488 (Office) I 607-563-9770 (Fax) I robert.kidder@troopers.ny.gov 4w RK 'ATE State Police CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail, including any attachments, may contain highly sensitive and confidential information. It is intended only for the individual(s) named. If you received this e-mail in error or from someone who was not authorized to send it to you, do not disseminate, copy or otherwise use this e-mail or its attachments. Please notify the sender immediately by reply e-mail and delete the e-mail from your system. 2 <<>> C> z C :5 u.. 0 .J .J ca G E N E R A T 0 R ..... ..... T R A N s p 0 R T E R F A C I L I T y OF V ER M ONT, INC. 24-Hour Emergency Phone Number 1-800-843-8265 BILL OF LADI Generator EPA ID # CESQG 1. Document No. 2. Page 1 3. Generator's Name and Malling Address SYR19622 Site Address of TOPS#517 14072 1 13045 5, Transporter 1 Company Name 6. EPAID # A. Slate Transporter's ID EN\ARONMENTAL PROD & SVCS oFvr INC. 1 B. Transporter 1 Phone 7. Transporter 2 Company Name 6. EPAID # C. State Transporter's ID D. Transporter 2 Phone 9. Designated Facility Name and Site Address 10.EPAID If E. State Facility's ID SOFVf,INC. NYR000115733 F. Faclllty's Phone 11 . Shipping Name 12. Containers No. Type 13. Tota Quanlly 14 Uni WtNo a. NON-RCRA, NON-DOT, LIQUIDS, N.o.s. (LAB PACK) OM p b. X UN1719, Caustic alkall liquids, n.o.s. (SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE solutlon) ()/ 8,11 OF /0 p C. X UN1993, Flammable liquids, n.o.s.(ACETONE), 3, II t>I DF p d. G. Addltlonal Descriptions for Materials Listed Above Document# 012820 Job#: N19720 PO# 1) 3306-LP _LX55GAL#LP 1,4,5-;8,7,8,9'"2) 3308-CE ERC3#154 _j_X5GPJ.. OF LP#2 3) 11021-CE ERC3#128 _L_X5 GAL OF LP#3 / X"Oa1U .... tP Doe,.2..._ t;oo / u 15. Special Handling instructions and AddlUonal Information 16. GENERATOR'S CERTIFICATION: hereby oertlfy that the above named materials are properly classified, described, according to the applicable regulation of the Department of Transportation. The materials described on this document Dale Name Month J.._ Day Year I ;)..() 17. Transporter 1 Acknowledgement of Receipt of Materials Dale Month Day Year 18. Transporter 2 of Receipt of Materials Date Printed/Typed Name Slgn;,ture Month Day Year 19 Discrepancy Indication Space 20. Facllity Owner or Operator; Certification of raoelpl of the matertals covered by this blll·of lad Ing except as noted In Item 19. Printed/Typed Name Signature J Month '2 Dale Day Yea, I ......., ''r' I - **truncated:** false - **body characters:** 9169