{"operation":"document","citation":"22-0050","title":"Mayo Clinic — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2023-01-19","effective_on":null,"summary":"22-0050 response to Mayo Clinic concerning 172.500, 172.502, 172.504.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-22-0050.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-22-0050.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-22-0050","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/docs/standards-rulemaking/hazmat/interpretations/77126/220050.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety\nAdministration\nJanuary 19, 2023\n1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE\nWashington, DC 20590\nMr. Travis Brandt, MS, CHMM\nHazardous & Radioactive Waste Management\nMayo Clinic\n200 Frist Street SW\nGuggenheim 1-12\nRochester, MN 55905\nReference No. 22-0050\nDear Mr. Brandt:\nThis letter is in response to your May 6, 2022, letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous\nMaterials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the placarding of hazardous\nwastes. Specifically, you ask whether your understanding of the placarding requirements is\ncorrect for the three scenarios described below.\nScenario 1:\nA shipment of hazardous materials in non-bulk packages that contain 2,400 pounds (1,089 kg) of\nDivision 6.2 (Infectious substance) originates from one location. You ask whether your\nunderstanding is correct that no placard is required for this shipment.\nResponse to Scenario 1:\nYour understanding is correct. As provided in Table 2 of § 172.504(e), no placard is required for\na material categorized as Division 6.2 (Infectious substance).\nScenario 2:\nA shipment of hazardous materials in non-bulk packages originating from one location contains:\n• 600 pounds (272 kg) of Division 6.2 (Infectious substance);\n• 200 pounds (91 kg) of Class 3 (Flammable liquid); and\n• 250 pounds (113 kg) of Class 8 (Corrosive material).\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nYou state that the provision in § 172.504(c) for less than 1,001 pounds (454 kg) of Table 2\nmaterial does not apply to this scenario due to the aggregate gross quantity of 1,050 pounds (476\nkg) of Table 2 materials. You also state that the DANGEROUS placard may be used in lieu of\nthe CORROSIVE and FLAMMABLE placards. You ask whether your understanding of the\nplacarding requirements applicable to this scenario is correct.\nResponse to Scenario 2:\nYou are not required to include the 600 pounds (272 kg) of Division 6.2 materials towards the\naggregate gross weight of hazardous materials allowed when determining compliance with the\nprovisions in § 172.504(c) because Division 6.2 (Infectious substance) materials are not required\nto be placarded. See § 172.500(b)(1). In addition, a shipment consisting solely of 200 pounds of\nClass 3 (Flammable liquid) material and 250 pounds of Class 8 (Corrosive) material does not\nrequire a placard. See § 172.504(c). However, should you choose to permissively placard your\nvehicle, due to the presence of more than one category of Table 2 material. you may use the\nDANGEROUS placard in lieu of either the CORROSIVE or the FLAMMABLE placards. See\n§§ 172.502(c) and 172.504(b).\nScenario 3:\nA shipment of hazardous materials in non-bulk packages originating from two locations includes\nthe following quantities of hazardous materials:\nMaterials loaded at location “Alpha”\n• 1,200 pounds (544 kg) of Division 6.2 (Infectious substance)\n• 400 pounds (181 kg) of Class 3 (Flammable liquid)\n• 50 pounds (23 kg) of Class 8 (Corrosive material)\nMaterials loaded at location “Beta”\n• 2,400 pounds (1,089 kg) of Division 6.2 (Infectious substance)\n• 100 pounds (45 kg) of Class 3 (Flammable liquid)\n• 150 pounds (68 kg) of Class 8 (Corrosive material)\nYou state that the exception in § 172.504(b) for use of the DANGEROUS placard does not apply\nafter location “Beta” materials are loaded, and the exception in § 172.504(c) does not apply in\neither location due to the presence of the Division 6.2 (Infectious substance) material. You ask\nwhether your understanding of the placarding requirements applicable to this scenario is correct.\nResponse to Scenario 3:\nThe total amount of covered Table 2 materials after loading the hazardous materials at location\n“Alpha” and “Beta” is 700 pounds (317 kg). Therefore, the exception in § 172.504(c) still\napplies when the transport vehicle departs locations “Alpha” and “Beta.” See Response to\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nScenario 2—i.e., no placards are required including the DANGEROUS placard. However, if you\nchoose to permissively placard your vehicle, due to the presence of more than one category of\nTable 2 material, you may use the DANGEROUS placard in lieu of either the CORROSIVE or\nthe FLAMMABLE placards. See §§ 172.502(c) and 172.504(b).\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 4>>>\n\nPollack\nMAYO CLINIC\n22-0050\n200 First Street SW\nRochester, Minnesota 55905\n507-284-2511\nMay 6, 2022\nTo whom it may concern:\nOn behalf of the Mayo Clinic, our department hereby submits a request for interpretation regarding the\nplacarding requirements used in public roadway transportation.\nMayo Clinic is a not-for-profit organization hospital that encompasses numerous locations and spans\nover multiple states. Our department is considering a program that consolidates waste from its satellite\nsites to our main facility in Rochester. In the initial steps of planning, concerns about placarding and its\nassociated applicability arose. In short, the various materials will be packaged to regulations in non-bulk\ncontainers. Most of the waste will be classified as Division 6.2, flammable liquids, and corrosives. The\npackages will then be properly marked, labeled, and loaded into the truck to be transported to the final\nfacility.\nUnder §172.504, the general placarding requirements can be briefly summarized as any amount of Table\n1 material or an amount in excess of 1001 pounds of Table 2 material. The hazardous waste present at\nthe sites should fall into Table 2. Our request for interpretation is as such: With these three subsequent\nscenarios, what are the placarding requirements if the following interpretations are not correct?\n1. A shipment from one location includes the following amounts:\n• 2400 pounds of Class 6.2 material\nThe aggregate weight of hazardous material is 2400 pounds, therefore the exemption of §172.504(c)\nwill not apply. Since the aggregate gross weight is not 8820 pounds or more, §172.301(a)(3) will not\npertain as well. Since there is no placard for the 6.2 class, no placard would apply.\n2. A shipment from one location includes the following amounts:\n• 600 pounds of Class 6.2 material\n• 200 pounds of Class 3 material\n• 250 pounds of Class 8 material\nThe aggregate weight of hazardous material is 1050 pounds, therefore the exemption of §172.504(c)\nwill not apply, however the DANGEROUS placard could be used since the aggregate falls below the\nlimit of 2205 pounds per §172.504(b). The options would be to use either a DANGEROUS placard or\na FLAMMABLE placard in conjunction with a CORROSIVE placard since there is no placard for the 6.2\nclass.\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\n3. A shipment from two locations includes the following amounts:\nLocation Alpha\nLocation Beta\n• 1200 pounds of Class 6.2 material\n• 2400 pounds of Class 6.2 material\n• 400 pounds of Class 3 material\n• 100 pounds of Class 3 material\n• 50 pounds of Class 8 material\n• 150 pounds of Class 8 material\nThe exemption of §172.504(c) will not apply for either location. At location Alpha, the DANGEROUS\nplacard could be used if the material were shipped first per §172.504(b) or using individual placards\nfor just FLAMMABLE and CORROSIVE since no placard for Class 6.2 exists. When shipping with the\nmaterial at location Beta, the amount of Class 6.2 material exceeds the limit of 2205 pounds from\none location and must be placarded as such. However, no placard for 6.2 material exists. The result\nis to classify the remaining waste with a CORROSIVE and FLAMMABLE placard.\nPlease assist in any inaccuracies or misinterpretations that may be present for the stated scenarios. If\nyou have any questions or would like to discuss these issues further, please do not hesitate to contact\nme.\nRespectfully,\n2-Nt\nTravis Brandt, MS, CHMM\nHazardous & Radioactive Waste Management\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\nPlease remit response(s) to the following:\nTravis Brandt, MS, CHMM\n200 First Street SW\nGuggenheim 1-12\nRochester, MN 55905\nOR\nbrandt.travis@mayo.edu\nIf you have any questions or concerns, please email me. Thank you for your time.","truncated":false,"body_characters":8148}