{"operation":"document","citation":"20-0022","title":"Railsback HazMat Safety Professionals LLC — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2020-05-07","effective_on":null,"summary":"20-0022 response to Railsback HazMat Safety Professionals LLC concerning 172.504.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0022.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0022.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0022","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/73861/200022.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 7, 2020\nRex Railsback\nHazMat Specialist\nRailsback HazMat Safety Professionals LLC\n312 Lawrence Ave\nLawrence, KS 66049\nReference No. 20-0022\nDear Mr. Railsback:\nThis letter is in response to your March 5, 2020 email requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to placarding. Specifically, you\nrequest the applicability of the response in previous Letter of Interpretation (LOI) No. 05-0108\nas it relates to a number of scenarios you describe. You state the scenario in LOI No. 05-0108\ninvolves a transport vehicle that requires placards, but also meets the requirements to utilize the\n“Dangerous” placard as specified in § 172.504(b). In the same scenario, a vehicle is placarded\non two ends with “Flammable Gas” placards, and on two sides with “Dangerous” placards. You\nstate that LOI No. 05-0108 specifies that such placarding would not be authorized by the HMR,\nand that the vehicle should be placarded with the same placard(s) on both ends and both sides.\nLastly, you state it is your understanding that this letter implies a person cannot mix required\nplacards with other placards that are authorized by an exception.\nWe have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows:\nQ1. You ask whether use of the “Flammable” and “Corrosive” placards on three sides of a\nvehicle and the “Dangerous” placard on the fourth side in accordance with the exception\nrequirements for the “Dangerous” placard in § 172.504(b) is permitted for a transport\nvehicle that is loaded with 600 lbs. of Class 3 (Flammable) material in non-bulk packages\nand 600 lbs. of Class 8 (Corrosive) material in non-bulk packages.\nA1. The answer is no. A freight container, unit load device, transport vehicle, or rail car\nwhich contains non-bulk packages with two or more categories of hazardous materials\nthat require different placards specified in table 2 of § 172.504(e) may be placarded with\na “Dangerous” placard instead of the separate placarding specified for each of the\nmaterials in table 2. However, each side and each end of a freight container, unit load\ndevice, transport vehicle, or rail car must have identical placards in design and quantity.\nQ2. You ask whether use of the “Flammable Gas” placard on two ends of the vehicle and the\n“Flammable Gas” and “Non-Flammable Gas” placards on two sides of the vehicle using\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nthe exception for the “Non-Flammable Gas” placard in § 172.504(f)(3) is permitted for a\ntransport vehicle that is loaded with 600 lbs. of Division 2.1 (Flammable Gas) material in\nnon-bulk packages and 600 lbs. of Division 2.2 (Non-flammable Gas) material in non-\nbulk packages.\nA2. The answer is no. Each side and each end of a freight container, unit load device,\ntransport vehicle, or rail car must have identical placards in design and quantity.\nQ3. You ask whether use of the “Non-Flammable Gas” placards on two ends of the vehicle\nand the “Oxygen” placard on two sides of the vehicle in accordance with the exception\nfor the “Oxygen” placard in § 172.504(f)(7) is permitted if a transport vehicle is loaded\nwith 1,200 lbs. of Division 2.2, Oxygen, compressed in non-bulk packages.\nA3. The answer is no. Each side and each end of a freight container, unit load device,\ntransport vehicle, or rail car must have identical placards in design and quantity.\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 Branch\nStandards and Rulemaking Division\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nl~~\n1-0 - oo J\n_ '}_\nDodd, Alice (PHMSA)\nFrom:\nSent:\nTo:\nSubject:\nAttachments:\nINFOCNTR (PHMSA)\nThursday, March 5, 2020 2:15 PM\nHazmat lnterps\nFW: Written Letter of Clarification Request\nRailsback lnterp.docx\nHello Alice and lkeya,\nBelow is a request for Letter of Interpretation.\nThanks,\nJonathon, HMIC\nFrom: Rex Railsback [mailto:rex@hazmatgeek.com]\nSent: Thursday, March 5, 2020 1:45 PM\nTo: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) <INFOCNTR.INFOCNTR@dot.gov>\nCc: Rex Railsback <rex@hazmatgeek.com>\nSubject: Written Letter of Clarification Request\nI'm requesting clarification of PHMSA's letter of clarification Ref. No. 05-0108 and other placarding exception scenarios.\nThe scenario presented in 05-0108 has a transport vehicle requiring placards and qualifying to use Dangerous placards\nper 172.504(b), but the vehicle is placarded on the two ends with Flammable Gas placards and the two sides with\nDangerous placards. The clarification letter states that the placards have to be the same on each side and each end. It\nimplies that you cannot mix required placards with placards allowed per an exception.\nWould the clarification in 05-0108 stay the same under the scenario #1? Using the implied clarification of 05-0108, ref.\nnot mixing required placards with placards allowed per an exceptions, would my understanding of the exceptions in\n172.504(f)(3) and (f)(7), Scenario #2 & 3 respectively, be correct.\nScenario #1-A transport vehicle is loaded with 600 lbs class 3 in non-bulk packages and 600 lbs class 8 non-bulk\npackages. The driver placards the vehicle on three sides with Flammable and Corrosive placards. On the fourth side the\ndriver uses only a Dangerous placard. My understanding of 05-0108, is that if using the exception in 172.504(b), then all\nfour sides of the transport vehicle have to display the same placard(s), either Flammable and Corrosive on each side and\neach end or Dangerous on each side and each end.\nScenario #2 -A transport vehicle is loaded with 600 lbs of Division 2.1 in non-bulk cylinders and 600 lbs of Division 2.2\nnon-bulk cylinders. The vehicle is displaying Flammable Gas placards on the two ends and Flammable Gas & Non-\nflammable Gas placards on the two sides. My understanding of 172.504(f)(3) would not allow the Non-flammable Gas\nplacards on the two sides, since 172.504(a) requires the required placards to be displayed on each side and each end.\nAdditionally, if I chose to utilize the placarding exception in 172.504(f)(3), I have to use the exception in full and not\npartially.\nScenario #3 -A transport vehicle is loaded with 1200 lbs of Division 2.2, Oxygen, compressed non-bulk cylinders. The\nvehicle is displaying Non-flammable Gas placards on two ends and Oxygen placards on the two sides. My understanding\nof 172.504(f)(7) would not allow the display of the Non-flammable Gas on the ends and Oxygen placards on the sides,\nsince 172.504(a) requires the required placards to be displayed on each side and each end. Additionally, if I chose to\nutilize the placarding exception in 172.504(f)(7), I have to use the exception in full and not partially.\n1\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nRespectfully\nRex Railsback, HazMat Specialist\n312 Lawrence Ave\nLawrence, KS 66049\n913-568-3001\nrex@hazmatgeek.com\nwww.hazmatgeek.com\nRAILS SACK HAZMAT SAFETY PROFESSIONALS LlC\ns\nYour t~F12Mat i ram,rig & Cornpl,ance SJ}OC1a ,sl\nThis electronic message and any files transmitted contains information from Railsback HazMat Safety Professionals, LLC which is\nprivileged, confidential or otherwise the exclusive property of the sender or intended recipient. If you are not the designated\nrecipient, please be aware that any dissemination, distribution or copying of this communication is strictly prohibited.\nIf you have received this electronic transmission in error, please notify us by telephone 913-568-3001, or by electronic mail (by\nreplying to the sender) and promptly destroy the original transmission.\n2","truncated":false,"body_characters":7613}