{"operation":"document","citation":"20-0023R","title":"Rescar — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2020-08-26","effective_on":null,"summary":"20-0023R response to Rescar concerning 172.704, 179.7, 180.509.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0023r.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0023r.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-20-0023r","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/74346/20-0023r.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\nAugust 26, 2020\nJay G. Standish\nVice President of Quality Assurance\nRescar\n1101 West 31st Street, Suite #250\nDowners Grove, IL 60515\nReference No. 20-0023R\nDear Mr. Standish:\nThis letter retracts and replaces our May 6, 2020, response to your September 26, 2019, letter\nrequesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180)\napplicable to rail tank cars. Specifically, you request clarification on the training requirements\nfor the visual inspection of rail tank cars under § 180.509(d).\nYour questions are paraphrased and summarized below.\nQ1. You ask whether it is required that the visual inspection of service equipment, in\naccordance with § 180.509(d)(3), be performed by a certified nondestructive test (NDT)\ntechnician using a procedure that has been approved by an NDT Level III technician.\nA1. The answer is no. The HMR does not specifically require the level of certification\ndescribed in your letter (i.e., use of a certified NDT technician using a procedure that has\nbeen approved by an NDT Level III technician) for the visual inspection of service\nequipment for indications of corrosion and other conditions that may make the tank car\nunsafe for transportation, as required by § 180.509(d). Should a tank car owner choose to\nrequire the use of personnel with specific qualifications to carry out the activities in\n§ 180.509(d), a tank car facility would need to incorporate such an instruction into its\nquality assurance program (QAP). The HMR provides performance standards for tank\ncar owners to establish the minimum acceptable framework for an owner’s qualification\nprogram for tank cars and components. Tank car owners must develop written\nprocedures (work instructions) for use by tank car facility employees and identify where\nand how to inspect the tank car, and the acceptance criteria for such inspections (see\n§ 180.501(b)). It is a tank car facility’s responsibility to incorporate the owner’s\nqualification program in its QAP, as required under § 179.7(a)(2), (b)(3), (b)(5), and (d).\nThese references specify:\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\n• The QAP must have a means to detect any nonconformity in the manufacturing,\nrepair, inspection, testing, and qualification or maintenance program of the tank\ncar;\n• The QAP elements must include procedures to ensure that the latest applicable\ndrawings, design calculations, specifications, and instructions are used in\nmanufacture, inspection, testing, and repair;\n• The QAP elements must have a description of the manufacturing, repair,\ninspection, testing, and qualification or maintenance program, including the\nacceptance criteria, so that an inspector can identify the characteristics of the tank\ncar and the elements to inspect, examine, and test at each point; and\n• Each tank car facility must provide written procedures to its employees to ensure\nthat the work on the tank car conforms to the specification, AAR approval, and\nowner’s acceptance criteria.\nAccordingly, while a certified NDT technician is not required under the HMR to perform\nthe function of visual inspection of service equipment, any specific requirements for level\nof qualification (or any desired certification) beyond function specific training as required\nby the HMR (see A2 below) of personnel performing visual inspection functions or\ndeveloping visual inspection procedures may be specified in the owner’s qualification\nprogram, which must be incorporated into the tank car facility’s QAP. The tank car\nowner’s qualification program may draw on, for example, the Association of American\nRailroad’s Manual of Standards and Recommended Practices, Section C—Part III,\nSpecifications for Tank Cars, Specification M-1002, (AAR Specifications for Tank Cars)\nin developing the minimum acceptable framework for an owner’s qualification program\nfor tank cars and components.\nQ2. If an individual receives, as a minimum, function specific training as specified in\n§ 172.704(a)(2) for the visual inspection of service equipment, including gaskets, for\nindications of corrosion and other conditions that may make the tank car unsafe for\ntransportation, you ask whether this training meets the intent of § 180.509(d)(3).\nA2. The answer is yes. With respect to performance of a visual inspection required under\n§ 180.509(d), the referenced citation is the minimum requirement under the HMR to\nensure proper training in performance of this function. As stated in answer A1, the tank\ncar owner’s qualification program must include written procedures (work instructions)\nfor use by tank car facility employees and must identify where to inspect, how to inspect,\nand the acceptance criteria. The tank car owner’s qualification program also may\nestablish the degree of qualification and any desired certification for employees.\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","truncated":false,"body_characters":5134}