{"operation":"document","citation":"98-0574","title":"ADea Services, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"1998-05-06","effective_on":null,"summary":"98-0574 response to ADea Services, Inc. concerning 173.403.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-98-0574.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-98-0574.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-98-0574","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/1998/980574.pdf","body":"<<>>\n\n•\nof Transportation\nU.S.Department\nWashington, D.C.\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\n20590\nResearch and\nSpecial Programs\nAdministration\nMr. Leonard J. Warbiany\nADCO Services, Inc.\n17650 Duvan Drive\n•\nMAY\n6 1998\nTinley Park, Illinois 60477\nDear Mr. Warbiany:\nThis is in response to your letter of March 20, 1998 requesting clarification relating to the\nclassification radioactive waste shipments under the provisions of the Hazardous Materials\nRegulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180).\nYour questions have been paraphrased and answered as follows:\nQ1.\nMust a waste that meets the requirements of a limited quantity of radioactive material be\ndescribed as \"Radioactive Material, LSA, n.o.s.,\" UN 2912 or as \"Radioactive material,\nn.o.s.,\" UN 2982?\nA1.\nA waste that meets the requirements of a limited quantity of radioactive material may be\nshipped in full conformance with the HMR. As such, the material may be described as\n\"Radioactive Material, LSA, n.o.s.,\" UN 2912 or \"Radioactive material, n.o.s.,\" UN 2982.\nWhen using either of these descriptions you may not take advantage of those exceptions in\nthe limited quantity provision.\nQ2.\nDoes the definition of radioactive material apply to mixed wastes (i.e., radioactive and\nflammable)?\nA2.\nYes. Radioactive material is any material having a specific activity greater than 70 Bq\nper gram (0.002 microcurie per gram) (see definition of \"specific activity\"). However, as\nprovided in § 173.423, when a limited quantity radioactive material meets the definition of\nanother hazard class or division, it must be classed for the additional hazard unless the\nother hazard is a small quantity (see § 173.4).\nQ3.\nAre the steps outlined in the attachments correct?\nA3.\nThe HMR governs the transportation of hazardous materials in commerce. Under\n§ 173.22, it is the shipper's responsibility to properly classify a hazardous material. Such\ndeterminations are not required to be verified by this Office. However, it is the opinion of\nthis office that the classification procedure described in your letter appears to be\nsatisfactory.\n:\n\n<<>>\n\n*.\nQ4.\nDoes the definition of radioactive material apply to the weight of the package or just the\nmaterial inside of the package?\nA4.\nThe weight of the packaging may not be used to calculate the specific activity of the\nradioactive material inside the packaging (refer to the definition of \"specific activity\" in\n§ 173.403).\nQ5.\nCan the Nuclear Regulatory Commission Forms 540 and 541 be used as shipping papers?\nA5.\nUnder § 171.8 of the HMR, the \"shipping paper\" is the document that contains the\ninformation required by §§ 172.202, 172.203, 172.204 and 172.604 (a)(3). Therefore,\nyour NRC forms 540 and 541 may be considered a shipping paper if it contains the\ninformation required by Part 172 Subpart C of the HMIR.\nSincerely,\nMattre 2. mitchelo\nHattie L. Mitchell, Chief\nRegulatory Review and Reinvention\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n\n<<>>\n\nBetts\nfile: 173,403\nADCO\nServices, Inc.\nMarch 20, 1998\nU.S. Department of Transportation RSPA\nOffice of Hazardous Standards\nEdward Mazzullo, Director\nDHM-10\n400 7' Street S.W.\nWashington, D.C. 20590\nDear Mr. Mazzullo,\nI am writing this letter to get an official interpretation for the proper D.O.T.\nshipping name for Radioactive Waste shipments and related information.\nFirst, let me give you a little back ground of the type of work that we perform.\nAdco Services, Inc./Adcom Express, Inc. is a Low Level Radioactive waste\nbroker / transporter located in Tinley Park, Il, just southwest of Chicago, IL. Last\n• September we had a Federal D.O.T. inspection performed by Jimmy Fox, and we\nwere informed that the proper D.O.T. description we were using were incorrect.\nBasically we used \"Radioactive Material, LSA, n.o.s., 7., UN2912\" or\n\"Radioactive Material, n.o.s., 7., UN 2982\" for about everything.\nWe were told that we could not use a blanket description for all wastes because\nof the differences in waste weight, container size, radionuclides and activities.\nThe inspector quoted the regulation regarding the definition of Radioactive\nMaterial (49CFR 173.403) and the regulations regarding Limited Quantity of\nRadioactive Material.\nBasically he told us that if a particular package of waste met the criteria of limited\nquantity of material that the package must be shipped in this fashion (following\nall of the guidelines). Also that in order to ship a package as UN 2912 (LSA) the\nmaterial must exceed the limited quantity requirements.\nWe did not exactly agree with this statement and I set out to prove him wrong. I\nhad called about everyone I knew of at the time with D.O.T. experience and was\ntold that they felt he was wrong but none of them were willing to put anything in\nwriting or could they quote any regulations for me to follow. I was also told that it\nwas the industry norm just to classify radioactive material as UN 2912 or UN\n2982. Without being able to get anything official we had change our thinking on\n17650 Duvan Drive • Tinley Park, Illinois 60477 • (708) 429-1660 • Fax (708) 429-9759\n® Printed on Recycled Paper.\n\n<<>>\n\n2\nproper D.O.T. descriptions. This was not a problem, just a little more work. We\nare more concerned with doing it right than making it easy.\nI have enclosed the information we now give our drivers in determining the\nproper description to use and I would appreciate if you could review this\nradioactive waste and mixed wastes with flammable liquids.\ninformation and respond to it. You will notice upon looking it over that we handle\nMy questions are as follows:\n1. Do we in fact have to classify a waste that meets the requirements of\nLimited Quantity of Material as such, or do we have the option of\ncalling this RAM UN 2912 or RAM UN 2982 because it also meets\nthose requirements?\n2. Does the definition of RAM apply to mixed\nwastes\n(radioactive/flammable) as well as just RAM material?\n3. Could you please review the steps we are taking, in the attachments !\nenclosed, to determine if they are correct?\n4. Does the definition of RAM apply to the weight of the package or just\nthe material inside of the package?\n5. We are currently using the NRC Forms 540 and 541 for the shipping\npapers accompanying our shipments. (Both from the generator to us\nand from us to the disposal sites) According to NRC regulations, these\nforms are intended for use when shipping waste to land disposal\nfacility. Seeing as all the information that is required for transporting\nRAM, per 49 CFR, is also included on these forms, can these forms\nbe used for any transportation of RAM?\n6. We transport both wastes destined for land disposal as well as\nwastes that are not intended or acceptable for land disposal. (ie.\nmixed waste containing radioactive and flammable materials) We\n17650 Duvan Drive • Tinley Park, Illinois 60477 • (708) 429-1660 • Fax (708) 429-9759\n* Printed on Recycled Paper.\n\n<<>>\n\n3\nhave come upon a problem because a couple of our generators claim\nthat these forms (540 and 541) were intended for use only to land\ndisposal facilities and they are concerned that they may be accused of\ndisposing of their mixed wastes at a land disposal facility. Nowhere in\nthe regulations nor on the form does it state that these forms can only\nbe used for land disposal.\nThese forms meet the shipping\nrequirements for manifesting according to 49 CFR and we wish to\ncontinue using these forms. The question is this, can we use the NRC\nForms 540 and 541 for our shipments of mixed wastes (radioactive\nand flammable)?\nI would appreciate a written response to my question, as we have a couple of\ncustomers who are disagreeing with our \"new\" descriptions and are threatening\nto use other brokers who are willing to do this their way. If you should have any\nquestions or should need clarification on any of the questions, please feel free to\ncontact me at 1-800-282-2326.\nThank you for your time.\nSincerely,\namec\nwaluy\nLeohard J. Warbiany\nCustomer Service Manager\nADCO SERVICES, Inc.\nenclosures\nLW/me\n17650 Duvan Drive • Tinley Park, Illinois 60477 • (708) 429-1660 • Fax (708) 429-9759\n* Printed on Recycled Paper.\n\n<<>>\n\nSTEPS TO DETERMINE PROPER D.O.T. SHIPPING NAME\nFOR SOLID WASTES***\nSOLID\nIS SPECIFIC ACTIVITY OF WASTE\nGREATER THAN .002 uCi/gm?\nYES\nUSING THE SUM OF THE\nNO\nUSE D.O.T.\nFRACTIONS WORKSHEET,\nSHIPPING NAME \"A\"\nDOES THE WASTE QUALIFY\nFOR LIMITED QUANTITY OF\nMATERIAL?\nDOES THE PACKAGE HAVE A\nNO\nYES\nSURFACE RADIATION LEVEL OF\n:5 mR/hr OR GREATER?\nTYPE OF WASTE\nYES\nNO\nALL OTHER TYPES\nSOURCES OR\nUSE D.O.T.\nOF SOLID WASTES\nCOMPOUNDS\nSHIPPING\n_NAME \"B\"\n-\nUSE D.O.T.\nUSE D.O.T.\nSHIPPING\nSHIPPING\nNAME \"D\"\nNAME \"C\"\n**NOTE: SOLID WASTES INCLUDE DAW, DIS, ANIMAL CARCASSES, BIOLOGICAL,\nABSORBED LIQUIDS, SOURCES, COMPOUNDS OR ANY OTHER WASTES THAT NEED TO BE\nDISPOSED OF AT A BURIAL SITE.\n(Printed on Recycled Paper.\n\n<<>>\n\nSTEPS TO DETERMINE PROPER D.O.T. SHIPPING NAME\nFOR LIQUIDS**\nTYPE OF\nLIQUID\nBIODEGRADABLE OR\nFLAMMABLE\nAQUEOUS\nDOES WASTE CONTAIN H3\nIS THE SPECIFIC ACTIVITY OF THE\nWASTE GREATER THAN .002 uCi/gm?\nAND/OR C14 ONLY AT LESS\nTHAN. 05 uCi/ml?\nYES\nNO.\nPES\nUSE D.O.T.\nUSE D.O.T\nUSING THE SUM OF THE\nSHIPPING\nIS THE SPECIFIC\nSHIPPING\nFRACTIONS WORKSHEET,\nNAME \"A\" •\nACTIVITY OF THE\nNAME \"F\"\nWASTE GREATER\nDOES THE WASTE\nTHAN .002 uCi/gm?\nQUALIFY FOR LIMITED\nQUANTITY OF\nRADIOACTIVE MATERIAL?\nYES\nYES\nNO\nNO\nUSING THE SUM OF THE\nDOES THE PACKAGE HAVE\nFRACTIONS WORKSHEET, DOES\nA SURFACE RADIATION\nTHE WASTE QUALIFY FOR\nLEVEL OF .5 mR/hr OR\nLIMITED QUANTITY OF\nUSE D.O.T.\nGREATER?\nRADIOACTIVE MATERIAL?\nSHIPPING\nNAME \"C\"\nYES\nNO\nYES\nNO\nDOES THE PACKAGE\nUSE D.O.T\nUSE D.O.T. SHIPPING\nHAVE A SURFACE\nSHIPPING\nNAME \"B\"\nRADIATION LEVEL OF\nNAME \"E\"\n.5 mR/hr OR GREATER?\nNO\nYES\nUSE D.O.T. SHIPPING NAME \"G\"\nNOTE: LIQUID WASTE INCLUDE FLAMMABLES, BIODEGRADABLE, AQUEOUS, BACTEC IN BULK OR\nVIALS OR ANT WASTE BEING SENT TO TERMA-FIX.\nPrinted on Recycled Paper.\n\n<<>>\n\nAPPENDIX D\nSTEPS TO DETERMINE PROPER D.O.T.\nSHIPPING DESCRIPTION\n1. First determine if the material in the container is radioactive\nmaterial in the first place. To do this, take the weight of the\ncontainer (less the weight of the drum and multiply by 454.\n(There are 454 grams in one pound) This gives you the total\nweight of the material in grams. Multiply this figure by .002.\nThis will give you the maximum activity per individual\ncontainer to determine if the package is radioactive material\nby D.O.T. description. (49 CFR 173.403 - definition of\nRADIOACTIVE MATERIAL)\nExample:\nA drum of waste weighs 200 pounds.\n200 pounds\nminus 50 pounds drum weight\nequals 150 pounds of waste.\n150 pounds times 454 equals 68,100 grams,\n68,100 grams times .002 equals 136.2 uCi maximum non-\nradioactive classification.\nIf the total activity of the package is less than 136.2 uCi\nREGULATED MEAn adeling is required on\nthe container.\nIf this container is combined with other Radioactive Material\npackages on the same manifest, the most hazardous classed\nmaterial must be listed first, or, listed in a different color, or,\nindicatęd by a Hazardous Material column on the shipping\npaper. (49 CFR 172:201 - a. 1.i., ii., or iii.)\n2. If you have determined that the package is radioactive\nmaterial, then proceed to find out if material is \"Limited\nQuantity Radioactive Material\" (49 CFR 173.421) or not. This\nPrinted on Recycled Paper.\n\n<<>>\n\nis accomplished by using the \"SUM OF THE FRACTIONS\nWORKSHEET\" attached. (See example attached.)\n3. If the material is not \"Limited Quantity of Radioactive\nMaterial\" then the proper D.O.T. shipping\nname must be\n\"Radioactive Material, LSA, N.O.S., 7.,\nUN 2912\" OR\n\"RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL, N.O.S., 7., UN 2982\" depending\non the type of waste you have.\n4. PROPER D.O.T. SHIPPING DESCRIPTION WE SHOULD BE\nUSING. (49 CFR 172.101)\nA. \"NON- REGULATED MATERIAL\" for all types of wastes that\nfall below the .002 uCi/gm of waste weight that have no other\nhazard involved. (49 CFR 173.403 - definition of Radioactive\nmaterial)\nB. \"RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL, EXCEPTED PACKAGE-\nLIMITED QUANTITY OF MATERIAL, 7., UN 2910\" for all\ntypes of radioactive material/wastes that are above .002 uCi/gm\nbut fall below 100% of the Limited Quantity upper limits as\nworked up on the \"Sum of the Fraction Worksheet\", that have\nno other hazards involved. (49 CFR 173.421)\nC. \"RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL, LSA, N.O.S., 7., UN 2912\" for all\ntypes of radioactive materials/wastes that are above 100% of\nthe Limited Quantity upper limits that have no other hazards\ninvolved. (49 CFR 173.403 - definition of Low Specific Activity\n(LSA) material)\nD. \"RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL, N.O.S., 7., UN 2982\" for all\nsources and compounds (acetates/nitrates) unless they fall\nunder \"Non-Regulated Material\" by definition or \"Limited\nQuantity of Material\" by definition. (See A and B above)\nE. \"RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL, LSA, N.O.S., 7., UN 2912 (\nCONTAINS - name of chemical) for flammable scintillation\nvials or bulk liquids that are above both \"Non-Regulated\nMaterial\" and \" Limited Quantity of Material\" limits.\nF. \"WASTE,FLAMMABLE LIQUID, N.O.S.,( CONTAINS -name\nof chemical) 3., UN 1993 PG I|\" for deregulated flammable\nscintillation vials or bulk liquids or for radioactive flammable\nscintillation vials or bulk liquids that fall below .002 uCi/gm.\n/ Printed on Recycled Paper.\n\n<<>>\n\nQUANTITY OF RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL) for all flammable\nscintillation vials or bulk liquids that the radioactive materials is\nabove .002 uCi/gm but below the upper limits of \"Limited\nQuantity of Materials\" using the \"Sum of the Fractions\nWorksheet\"\nWhen preparing the NRC Forms 540 and 541 the materials with\nthe greatest hazard must be entered in accordance with 49 CFR\n172.201 -a.1.i,ii, or ill. That is listing the most hazardous items)\nfirst, or in a contrasting color or by designating them with an \"X\" in\nthe hazardous materials column. (For our purposes, it would\nprobably be easier to first determine which hazard class each\npackage falls into and renumber the drums accordingly.) Also\nwhen listing packages, if there are no \"Radioactive\" listings, then\nthe words \"Low Level Radioactive Waste Manifest\" should be\nwhited out on both forms prior to making copies.\nIf any of the drums or packages on these forms falls into the\n\"Limited Quantity of Radioactive Materials\" classification, then\n\"Statement of Certification\" (49 CFR 173.422) must accompany\nthe shipment.\n* Printed on Recycled Paper.\n\n<<>>\n\n- 1.\nH'S MOSTAGE\nHAR 20 'C8\n= 0.55\n22225:3\n*\nADCO\n17650 Duvan Drive\nTinley Park, Illinois 60477\nServices, I\nU.S. Department of Transportation RSPA\nOffice of Hazardous Standards\nEdward Mazzullo, Director\nDHM-10\n40074 Street S.W.\nWashington, D.C. 20590","truncated":false,"body_characters":14642}