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Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration September 3, 2024 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590 Kevin Bourbeau Staff Mechanical Engineer KMC Systems, Inc. 220 Daniel Webster Highway Merrimack, NH 03054 Reference No. 24-0028 Dear Mr. Bourbeau: This letter is in response to your April 23, 2024, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to transporting refrigerating machines by air. Specifically, you ask whether an instrument containing two separate (i.e., isolated) refrigerating machines each containing up to 100 grams of R-290—a flammable, non- toxic gas—qualifies for the exception for compressed gases in refrigerating machines provided in § 173.307(a)(4)(v). The answer is yes. Refrigerating machines and components thereof, containing 100 g or less of a flammable, non-toxic liquefied gas, are not subject to the requirements of the HMR. It is the opinion of this Office that this exception continues to apply to separate—and isolated— refrigerating machines regardless of whether the refrigerating machines component parts make up a larger instrument or piece of equipment. The refrigerating machines may not utilize the same tubing, piping, or relevant components to function. Please note, if being transported in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Technical Instructions for the Safe Transport of Dangerous Goods by Air (ICAO TI), special provision A103 of the ICAO TI may also apply and includes design requirements for the refrigerating machine and its components. I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance. Sincerely, Dirk Der Kinderen Chief, Standards Development Branch Standards and Rulemaking Division#
Page 2Horne From: INFOCNTR (PHMSA) To: Dodd, Alice (PHMSA) Cc: Hazmat Interps Subject: FW: Formal Letter of Interpretation Date: Wednesday, April 24, 2024 3:52:19 PM Attachments: image001.png image006.png image002.png 24-0028 Hi Alice, Please see the below interpretation request. Let me know if you need anything. Regards, -Breanna From: Bourbeau, Kevin <Kevin.Bourbeau@elbitsystems-us.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2024 9:52 AM To: PHMSA HM InfoCenter <PHMSAHMInfoCenter@dot.gov> Cc: Brooks, William <William.Brooks@elbitsystems-us.com> Subject: Formal Letter of Interpretation CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Do not click on links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. I am requesting a formal letter of interpretation. I have seen two online, but they are not quite the same as our circumstances. The two similar letters are: 08-0130 21-0011 My question is regarding shipping Refrigerating Machines by air. I see that § 173.307(a)(4)(v) has an exception for Refrigerating Machines with <100grams or less of a flammable, non-toxic liquefied gas. We are designing an instrument and we would like to have two completely separate Refrigerating machines inside of one instrument, each of them containing up to 100 grams of R-290. Does the exception allow us to have up to 100grams in each Refrigerating machine or is the 100 grams for the total instrument? How does shipping two instruments together, each with one refrigerating machine differ from shipping one instrument with two refrigerating machines inside? Thank you for your help with this.#
Page 3Kevin Bourbeau Staff Mechanical Engineer | KMC Systems, Inc. P: 603.595.5010 220 Daniel Webster Hwy | Merrimack, NH 03054 The information contained in this email transmission may contain proprietary and business sensitive information. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution or duplication of this communication is strictly prohibited. Unauthorized interception of this e-mail is a violation of law. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply email and immediately destroy all copies of the original message. Any technical data and/or information provided with or in this email may be subject to U.S. export controls law. Export, diversion or disclosure contrary to U.S. law is prohibited. Such technical data or information is not to be exported from the U.S. or given to any foreign person in the U.S. without prior written authorization of Elbit America and the appropriate U.S. Government agency.#
This material provides agency context. It does not replace binding regulatory text, and its legal effect depends on the underlying authority and facts.