{"operation":"document","citation":"98-0021","title":"Wright Corporation — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"1998-06-18","effective_on":null,"summary":"98-0021 response to Wright Corporation concerning 177.834.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-98-0021.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-98-0021.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-98-0021","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/1998/980021.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nof Transportation\nU.S. Department\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nWashington, D.C.\n20530\nResearch and\nSpecial Programs\nAdministration\nJUN | 8 1998\nLIARLEADE\nMr. Rick Wells\nShipping Manager\nWright Corporation\nP.O. Box 402\nRef. No.\n98-0021\nRiegelwood, NC\n28456\nDear Mr. Wells:\nThis is in response to your letter of April 10, 1998, requesting\nclarification on the requirements for securing packages under the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). You\nprovided a scenario in which Hexamethylenetetramine, a Division\n4.1 (flammable solid) material, is packaged in 2,000-pound\nflexible intermediate bulk containers (FIBCs), or in fifty pound\nbags which are stacked together with glue between each layer.\nThe packages are then placed on pallets, with no means of\nsecurement to the pallet.\nEach unit is loaded on the truck\ntouching adjacent units\nand walls in a staggered configuration\nwith some spaces remaining.' The last two units are secured with\nload locks to prevent them\nfrom moving.\nconfirmation that this scenario you present meets the\nYou requested\nrequirements of the HMR.\nSection 177.834 (g) requires a motor carrier to ensure that\npackages are secured against movement within a vehicle to prevent\nshifting or falling under conditions normally incident to\ntransportation.\nThese conditions most often include vehicle\nstarting, stopping, cornering;\nroad conditions.\naccident avoidance, and varied\nUnits secured to a pallet that is itself not\nprevented from movement relative to motion of the transport\nvehicle, or containers wedged in the nose of the vehicle without\nrear support do not meet the requirements of $ 177.834 (g) for\nbeing secured against movement within the vehicle.\nrequirements which address protection against shifting or falling\ncargo are found in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations\n(EMCSR; 49 CFR Parts 383-399), specifically under S$ 393.100 to\n393.106.\nThese requirements allow varied methods of securement,\nor load-locks.\nsuch as blocking with other freight, banding or use of tie-downs\n177.834\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\n-\n2\nThe requirements in $ 177.834 (g) are met when packages of\nhazardous materials are secured in a manner that precludes\nmovement within the transport vehicle, e.g., blocking with other\nfreight, use of tie-downs, or toe-boards.\nprovided does not meet the requirements of § 177.834 (g). We note\nThe scenario you\nthe packages are not secured to the pallets and that there are\nvoid spaces in your configuration which present the possibility\nof movement. Any movement of packages relative to the transport\nvehicle would be a violation of the HMR.\n- trust this answers your inquiry. If we can be of further\nassistance, please contact us.\nSincerely,\nSenior Transportation Specialist\nOffice\nof Hazardous Materials\n• Standards\n:\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n:.:\nof tansportation\nUS Department\nSpecial Programs\nResearch and\nAdministration\nMAY 2 1990\nKI. Larry Barr\nBeIr 5 Miles, Inc.\nChicago, Illinoia 60616\nDear Mr. Berr:\nThis Is in response to your Jester deted March 2B, 1990, regarding package\nsecurement Iequitements\nvebicle in accordance with § 177.834(a) and (g) of the Hazardous Materials\ntrarsporting hazardous materials by notor\nRegulations (HAR).\nSection 177.834(a) requires a motor carrier to ensure that packages of\nhazardous materiels are secured against novement yithin a uctor vebicle to\npreyert shifting or falling, under conditions normelly. incident\nto\nvehicle Etarting, stopping, accelerating, cornering, accident avoidance, and\ntransportation.\nConditions nornally incident to transportation include\nveried Ioed conditions.\nGeneral requirements which address protection\negainst shifting or falling cargo under conditions normally incident to\nmotion\nbanding, use of tiedowns or other methods that will ensure that relative\nbetreen peckages\nis kept to a minimum.\nThe requiremento in\n§ 177.834(g) are met when packages of hazardous materiels ere secured in a\ncerner that precludes movement of those packages.\nI trust this ansvers your inquiry. If ve can be of additional assistance,\nplease contact us.\n-\nSincerely,\nEdward I. Mezzullo'\nChief,\nStandards Division\nOffice of Hazardoun Meteriel•\nIransportation\n177.834\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\n..\"\ncontractors\nWRIGHT CORPORATION\nW\n7 li: 177.834G\nApril 10, 1998\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nMr. Edward T. Mazzullo\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nRoom # 8102 DHM-10\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nDear Mr. Mazzullo:\nThe purpose of this letter is to receive clarification of C.F.R. 177.834 G....\"'Must be so braced as to\nprevent motion thereof relative to the vehicle when in transit\", for our product Hexamethylenetetramine, a\nFlammable Solid, 4.1, UN1328, PG III. We are the largest U.S. producer of this product and we ship all\nover the country as well as to Canada and Mexico. We first contacted your office in March 1997 because\nsome of the carriers hauling our product were being stopped in Chillicothe, Ohio, about two to four times a\nyear (we ship approximately seven truck loads a week to Ohio). We were given a letter (attached)\naddressed to Mr. Larry Barr which referred to a similar situation. We used this letter as support for the three\ncases that the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio had against us last year and helped us get all three\nviolations deleted. In the last case their Administrator was very hesitant to agree because the letter was not\naddressed to us.\nWhat I would like for you to do is review the following information about how we load this\nmaterial and send us a letter stating that this is a D.O.T. approved method for loading a Flammable Solid\nusing our freight stacked against each other to block against movement. Our product is shipped in two\nthousand pound FIBC's, or in fifty pound bags, twenty one hundred pounds per unit. Both are placed on\nforty two by forty two inch pallets which allows at least one inch over hang per side. The fifty pound bags\nare secured by the use of glue between each layer to prevent shifting. I am sending a diagram (attached) to\nshow how these units are loaded on the trucks. Each unit is placed touching adjacent units and walls except\nwhere spaces are indicated. This alternating method locks from side to side and front and back. On the last\ntwo pallets we require two load locks to keep them from moving.\nWe have contacted out two largest customers in Ohio and neither have experienced receiving any\ntruck loads of material with shifted or damaged bags. Also, each time we ask the Officer in Chillicothe if\nour loads had shifted or been in any disarray, he has indicated that they were not. At this point the trip is\n95% complete.\nP.O. BOX 402\n•\nRIEGELWOOD, N.C. 28456\n•\nTELEPHONE 919-655-2263\n•\n•\nFAX 919-655-9671\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nApril 10, 1998\nPage 2\nIf there is any other information that would help explain what I am asking I can be reached at 910-\n655-2297 extention 5241. Thank you very much for your office's help in the past, and for you taking time\nto help us with this letter.\nSincerely,\nNich Wells\nRick Wells\nShipping Manager\nEnclosures (2)\naw\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\n(FroNT)\n(FroNT)\nX\n••\n124\nExample For\nLoading a\nExample for\nTruck with\nLoading\na\n21 PaLLeTS\nTruck with\n22 pullets\n-\n-\nSpace\nPlease space\nPaLLeTS AS\nSnoWN\nX\nLoad..\nLocks.","truncated":false,"body_characters":7203}