{"operation":"document","citation":"98-0130","title":"Allied Universal Corp. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"1998-10-01","effective_on":null,"summary":"98-0130 response to Allied Universal Corp. concerning 173.28.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-98-0130.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-98-0130.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-98-0130","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/1998/980130.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nResearch and\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nSpecial Programs\nAdministration\nOCT /\n1998\nMs. Robin J. Eddy\nAllied Universal Corp.\nTraining and Regulatory Compliance Manager\n98-0130\n8350 N.W. 93 Street\nMiami,\nFlorida 33166-2098\nDear Ms. Eddy:\nThis is in response to your June 9, 1998 letter concerning the\nreuse of one gallon UN 1H1 plastic drums or non-specification\nbottles as inner receptacles of combination packages, under the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) and\nDOT-E 6614. Your questions are paraphrased and answered as\nfollows:\nQ1. Are we permitted to reuse UN 1H1 plastic drums if they\nare placed inside a UN standard fiberboard box as a\ncombination package, under the provisions of $ 173.28?\nAl. Yes, under certain conditions. For example,\nand 173.203 authorize the use of inner plastic\nS$ 173.202\nreceptacles and an outer UN 4G fiberboard box as a\ncombination\npackaging meeting a packing group II OI III\nlevel respectively. Inner receptacles of a combination\npackaging need only conform to the general requirements\nof S$ 173.24 and 173.24a. If UN 1H1 plastic drums are\nused as the inner receptacles, the drums are not\nsubject to the reconditioning, leakproofness testing,\nand marking requirements in § 173.28 (b) and (c) .\nBecause the UN 1H1 drums were not requalified in\naccordance with § 173.28 prior to reuse, they may not\nbe returned as a single packaging.\nTherefore, the\npackaged as inner receptacles of an authorized\nemptied drums being returned to your facility must be\ncombination packaging as when they previously contained\na greater quantity of hazardous material. (See § 173.29)\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nwhich reduces their structural integrity;\nincompatible residue, rupture, or other damage\n(2)\nReconditioned in accordance with § 173.28 (c);\n(3) Marked, in a permanent manner, with the\nminimum thickness in millimeters of the packaging\nmaterial as required by $ 178.503 (a) (9) and\nconform to the minimum thickness criteria based on\nthe capacity of the drums, as listed in\n$ 173.28 (b) (4) (i); and\n(4) If intended to contain liquids, subjected to a\nleakproofness test prescribed in § 178.604, and\nthe retest and marking requirements prescribed in\n$ 173.28 (b) (2), unless excepted under the\nexclusive use próvisions of § 173.28 (b) (7).\n22.\nOur company transports the packages to retailers who,\nin turn, sell them to their customers. When the\nplastic drums are emptied, the customers return the\ndrums to the retail facility where they are picked up\nby our company. Do we qualify for exclusive use relief\nunder $ 173.28 (b) (7) (iii) and, therefore, not subject\nto leakproofness testing and marking?\nA2.\n\"Exclusive use of the refiller\" as referenced in\n§ 173.28 (b) (7) (iii), or dedicated service, means the\nthe end user who returns the drum\nfor refilling are sole participants in the\ntransportation cycle and, therefore, control the\nloading, unloading, and handling of the drums.\nscenario you described does not satisfy this condition.\n23.\nAre exemption holders authorized to reuse the\npolyethylene bottles under the provisions of DOT-E\n6614?\nA3.\n6614 are non-specification, inner receptacles that are\nThe polyethylene bottles authorized under DOT-E\npacked in an outer polyethylene crate. Reuse\nrequirements prescribed in $ 173.28 apply to\nspecification packagings only. DOT-E 6614 does not\naddress the reuse of the inner bottles. Therefore, the\nnon-specification inner packagings may be reused as\ndiscussed\nunder Al above.\n--..\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\n==i=\nI hope this satisfies your request.\nif you need additional information.\nPlease contact this office\nSincerely,\nHattie z. mitchell\nHattie I. Mitchell, Chief\nRegulatory Review\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\nand Reinvention\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nStevens\nFile 173.28\nALLIED UNIVERSAL CORP.., 8350 N.W. 93 Street, Miami, Florida 33166-2098\nFax 305-885-4671\n305-888-2623\nJune 9, 1998\nMr. Edward Mazzullo\nDirector for Hazardous Materials Standards\nU.S. Department of Transportation\n400 Seventh Street, S.W., DHM-10\nWashington, D.C. 20590-0001\nRe: Reuse of One-Gallon Containers\nDear Mr. Mazzullo:\nPer my conversation with John P. Heneghan, Hazardous Material Enforcement Chief,\nSouthern Region, I am writing to you to ask for the clarification of two questions\nregarding the use of one gallon containers which contain Packing Group I and III\nhazardous materials.\nFirst question regards combination packaging. Based upon the requirements in 49\nCFR §173.28, may a UN certified, plastic, non-bulk container (gallon jug) be reused if it\nis an inner package, placed inside of a UN certified, cardboard box (referred to by\nAllied Universal Corp. as a 4 x 1 container)? If it is legal, what are the limitations?\nTo answer the question above, the following is a brief description of the shipping of\nthese containers: Allied Universal Corporation would package Packing Group Il and I!!\nhazardous materials in one gallon, UN certified jugs. The jugs would be placed in a UN\ncertified cardboard box (4 x 1). The boxes are placed upon a pallet, loaded onto Allied\ntrucks, and shipped to Allied customers for sale. The customer would be charged with\ncollecting all used, empty containers (one-gallon jugs, not the cardboard boxes). The\nAllied trucks would pick-up the used containers and return all used containers to the\nAllied facility for visual inspection and refill with like hazardous material. The one-\ngallon containers would once again be placed into new UN certified cardboard boxes\nand reshipped to the customer\nlocation.\nAs specified in 49 CFR\n§173.28(a)(b)(7)(iv)(B), all one-gallon containers that fail visual inspection or are to be\nfilled on a date more than five years from their manufacture date, shall be placed out of\nservice.\nSecond question regards DOT-E 6614. This attached exemption exempts all holders\nfrom 49 CFR §173.202 and §173.203. Upon reading this exemption, it does not clearly\nstate whether or not the bottle, described in section seven \"a\" of the exemption, may be\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\n..\nreused. In light of various safety concerns, and to maintain an equal economic playing\ntield in the industry, the reuse of these bottles needs to be clarified in DOT-E 6614\nCan the bottles be reused? And if they can, do all the requirements in 49 CFR 173.28\napply? What are the requirements for reuse, if reuse is legal?\nIf you could please respond to these questions in writing as soon as possible, I would\ngreatly appreciate it. Allied is currently addressing packaging concerns, brought to our\nattention by Mr. Heneghan, and time is of the essence. Your answers to the above\nquestions will help to expedite the decisions we need to make concerning the shipping\nof our one-gallon jugs.\nIf you should have any questions, please contact me at (305) 888 - 2623, extension\nThank you.\nSincerely,\nRobin J. Eddy\nTraining and Regulatory Compliance Manager\nCC:\nattachment, DOT-E 6614","truncated":false,"body_characters":6930}