Shell Chemical Company — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1of Transportation U.S. Department Washington, D.C. 20590 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Research and Sprints retions JAN - 6 1999 Mr. William Reinike Ref. No. 98-0361 Shell Chemical Company 2982 Washington Blvd. Belpre, Ohio 45714 Dear Mr. Reinike: This is in response to your letter of December 2, 1998, requesting clarification on the requirements for materials of trade (MOTs) under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171- 180). You presented the following scenario and would like confirmation that the MOTs exception in § 173.6 applies. A barge of butadiene arrives at your Ohio River dock facility. A technician draws 500 ml of butadiene from the barge into a small cylinder. He uses a company pickup truck to transport the cylinder to your main plant. At the plant the butadiene is analyzed to ensure the material in the barge meets you manufacturing specifications. You also presented the following proposed scenario: A barge stops at Neal's Landing in Vienna, WV, before proceeding to your plant. You would like to draw a sample of material at this time so that by the time the barge reaches your dock facility the material would have already been analyzed. The difference in this scenario is that the trip is 10 miles each way and crosses state lines. Both scenarios you present are suitable for the MOTs exception. You are a private carrier transporting small amounts of hazardous material in direct support of your business and you state that all provisions of § 173.6 are met. I hope this information is helpful. Sincerely, When Hell. Delmer F. Billing Chief, Standards Development Office of Hazardous Materials Standards 980361#

Page 212/03/98 THU 10:13. FAX 423 2647 SHELL CHEMICAL 41002 98-0361 • Lavalle 517B.te December 2, 1998 171.8 MOT William Reinike 2982 Washington Blvd. Shell Chemical Company Belpre, OH 45714 Ms Diane LaValle Transportation Specialist U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Special Programs Administration Washington, DC 20590 Dear Ms LaValle, Thank you, again, for providing an interpretation of the "material of trade" definition. I would like to once again explain the situations or scenarios affecting our sampling and transportation prooesses to ensure that we will meet the intent of the material of trade definition. Shell's Belpre, OH, plant is solely a manufacturing facility. We do ship our finished product by contract carrier, but we are not in the transportation business. Here are the scenarios as I described in our telephone conversation. liquefied flammable gas that meets the DOT definition of a 2.1 material.) Our dock facility is separated In one situation we receive butadiene (BD) by barge at our Ohio River dock facility, (Butadiene is a barge into a small cylinder. He (she) then uses a company pickup truck to transport the cylinder across the from the main plant by a two-lane state highway. A technician draws a 500 MIL (13.8 oz.) of BD from the highway and into the main plant where our laboratory is located. Butadiene is a key ingredient or raw material in our manufacture of synthetic rubber. Our laboratory analyzes the BD sample to ensure that the material in the barge will meet our manufacturing specifications. We do not realize or receive revenue from the laboratory analysis. The analysis is part of the plant operating cost instead. met before we act on the idea. Butadiene barges stop at Neal's Landing in Vienna, WV, before proceeding The second scenario represents a proposed idea. We want to be sure that all regulatory requirements are before the barge finally arrives at our dock facility. This idea allows us to begin unloading the barge to our plant. If we can draw material samples when the barge stops at Vienna, we can have them analyzed immediately when it arrives at Shell, and eliminates a three hour delay. Two small cities. The trip also means that our technician will enter West Virginia, then return to Ohio. quantities, and the mode of transportation are the same. But this time the trip is 10 miles each way through As the DOT focal point for our plant I want to be very sure that we continue to meet all 49CFR requirements for shipping hazardous materials. On the other hand, I want to help make our current and proposed sampling processes as user friendly as the regulations will allow. That is my primary reason for meet item three (3) in the "material of trade" definition stated in 49CFR 171.8. wanting to use the "material of trade" exception. I believe that the material and our mode of transportation motor carriage and the material is used in direct support of a principal business that is other chan • We are using private transportation by motor vehicle. We also meet the hazard class, quantity, and packaging requirements found in the material of trade exception [49CFR 173.6(a)(2) and (b)(I) and (5)]. 'The quantity is far less and secured in the bed of the pickup truck during transportation. than the 220 pound limit, and we do use an approved leak tight DOTE cylinder. The cylinder is protected materials subchapter (171 - 180), except those included in the exception itself. The cylinders must be According to the opening statement of 173.6, we are not subject to the requirements of the hazardous ! !#

Page 312/03/98 THU,10:13, FAX 423 2647 4. H SHELL CHEMICAL 0003 marked with the identity of the material. The hazard communioation requirement does not mention hazard class labels for non-bulk packaging. However, we will apply or attach the appropriate label to the exception omits the requirements for shipping papers, training, and emergency response information. ylinders. The cylinders conform to packaging, qualification, maintenance, and use requirements. The However, 29CFR 1910.1200 does require warning labels (such as a hazard class label), emergency does not apply to 29CFR. Regardless of which agency mandates the requirements, a shipper would be response information (specifically, an MSDS), and employee training. The material of trade exception or response information. Our people who do the sampling have received DOT GA&F and Function very foolish to send out any hazardous material using untrained personnel and no appropriate material data Specific training, and other training covering response to spills, leaks, and more. followed correctly. Thank you for your continued help and cooperation. Sincerely, Bill Reinike William Reinike Phone: (740) 423-2261 Shell Chemical Company FAX: (740) 423-2386#