{"operation":"document","citation":"99-0186","title":"International Carbon Black Association — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"1999-09-21","effective_on":null,"summary":"99-0186 response to International Carbon Black Association concerning 173.22.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-99-0186.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-99-0186.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-99-0186","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/1999/990186.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nUS. Department\n400 Seventh Street, S.W.\nof Transportation\nWashington, D.C.\n20590\nSpeciai Programs\nResearch and\nAdministration\nSEP. 2 1 1999-\nMr. Jimmy W. Boyd\nRef. No: 99-0186\nPresident\nInternational Carbon Black Association\nPost Office Box 2831\nBorger, TX 79008-2831\nDear Mr. Boyd:\nThis is in response to your letter of June 29, 1999, requesting clarification on the requirements for\ntransporting carbon black under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 171-180).\nYou provided a Material Safety Data Sheet for carbon black and also provided test results which verify\nthat the carbon black does not meet the Division 4.2 criteria of § 173.124. It is your determination that\ncarbon black is not a hazardous material.\nBased on the information and test results you provided, we agree that the carbon black identified in\nyour letter does not meet any of the hazard class criteria of the HMR and is therefore not a regulated\nmaterial.\nI hope this information is helpful.\nSincerely,\nDelmer F. Billings\nChief, Standards Development\nOffice of Hazardous Materials Standards\n990186\n11322\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\ncavalle\nINTERNATIONAL CARBON BLACK ASSOCIATION 73.22\n99-0186\nPLEASE REPLY TO:\nMr. Jimmy W. Boyd\nBorger, TX 79008-2831\nPost Office Box 2831\nFax. (806) 273-1473\nTel. (806) 273-1454\nJune 29, 1999\nEdward T. Mazzullo, Director\nOffice of Hazardous Material Standards\nU.S. DOT - RSPA DHM-10\n400. Seventh Street SW\nWashington, DC 20590-0001\nRe: U.S. DOT Regulation of Carbon Black Transportation;\nDear Sir:\nThe International. Carbon Black Association (ICBA) represents all United States, Canadian, and\nEuropean Community manufacturers of carbon black. The ICBA consolidates expertise from\nindustry and universities that have performed substantial scientific research concerning the safety,\nhealth effects, and protection of the environment as related to carbon black\nFor the reasons set forth below, the ICBA requests that you supply an official letter interpretation\nclarifying that commercial carbon black is not properly included in the listing for \"carbon, animal\nor vegetable origin\" at 49 C.F.R. § 172.101 and, therefore, is not subject to the transportation\nrestrictions listed thereunder.\nThe Hazardous Materials Regulations Misclassify Commercial Carbon Black\nThe Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Transportation regulations at 49 C.F.R.\n§ 172.101 contain a listing for \"carbon, animal or vegetable origin,\" indicating a United Nations\nidentification number of UN1361.* This entry leads to an error in the classification of commercial\n1\nSee Attachment A, p. 128 of the 1998 Edition of 49 C.F.R. Parts 100 - 185.\nRegistered Office: 149 avenue Louise, 1050 Brussels Beigium\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\ncarbon black.? The reference specifies that the material is forbidden for transport on commercial\naircraft. This specific type of carbon black comprises less than 1% of the total commercial carbon\nblack production. The origin of this material is from charred animal bones, which is manufactured\nby one California facility in the U.S.\nIn contrast, commercial carbon black, classified as CAS #1333-86-4, has no assigned UN or NA\nnumber. Commercial carbon black is produced by thermal decomposition of heavy aromatic oil,\nnatural gas, or acetylene (i.e., it is of \"mineral\" origin), and produces a dry, fine particulate matter\nused primarily in the production of tires, manufactured rubber goods, inks, and toners.\nDue to a lack of understanding, freight companies misclassify commercial carbon blacks using the\nabove-referenced entry in the Dangerous Goods regulations. This misclassification has caused\nunwarranted refusal to accept freight, delays for our customers, and frustration for the\nmanufacturers\nCommercial Carbon Black is Not a Spontaneously Combustible Material\nThe United States Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials regulations contain two\nreferences to carbon: \"Carbon, activated\", and \"Carbon, animal or vegetable origin,\" 49 C.F.R.\n§ 172.101. Both are listed with a hazard class of Division 4.2, or spontaneously combustible.\nheating material.\nA spontaneously combustible material is one of two things: a pyrophoric material, or a self-\nA pyrophoric material is a material that, even in small quantities and without an\nexternal ignition source, can ignite within five minutes of coming in contact with air. A self-\nheating material is one that, when in contact with air and without an energy supply; is liable to\nself-heat. A material of this type which exhibits spontaneous ignition or exceeds 200 °C (392 °F)\nin a 24 hour test under the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria is classified as a Division 4.2\nmaterial. 49 C.F.R. § 173.124(b).\nIn contrast, most commercial carbon blacks are stable products, relatively neutral in pH, contain\nless than 1% volatile material, and have a minimum ignition temperature in excess of 600 °F. This\ninformation is found in Sections 9, 2, and 5, respectively, of the attached Material Safety Data\nSheet (MSDS).? Since most of these commercial grade carbon blacks are so stable, they do not\nconstitute a potential danger to freight companies.\nIn addition, the ICBA sponsored specific testing on carbon black to measure certain flammability,\nexplosivity, and other related properties. In sum, the testing determined that the Lower Limit for\n2\nIndeed the International Air Transport Association (\"IATA) Dangerous Goods\nregulations contain a corresponding entry of \"carbon black, animal or vegetable origin.\"\nThis entry in the IATA guidelines, which is based on the U.S. DOT and ICAO provisions,\nhas been cited by carriers as the reason for refusing to transport commercial carbon black\nby air.\n3\nA current MSDS for carbon black is attached as Attachment B.\nRegistered Office: 149 avenue Louise, 1050 Brussels Belgium\n-2-\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nExplosion was approximately a 375 g/m? concentration of carbon black when applying an energy\nsource of 30 KJ, which is nearly 30 times the energy produced by a welding torch. In addition,\nthe minimum autoignition temperature was found to exceed 800 °C. Other testing revealed that\ncarbon black should not be classified as \"Highly Flammable\" or \"Easily Ignitable\" according to\nEuropean Directive 84/449 and the German VDI Guideline 2263. As a result of the this testing,\nthe ICBA submits that there is no basis to classify commercial carbon black as a U.S. DOT\nDivision 4.2 material, and, therefore the restrictions on UN 1361 should not apply to commercial\ncarbon black. Attachment C hereto documents some of the above information.\ninterpretation to differentiate commercial carbon blacks from those that contain the UN1361\nThe ICBA requests that DOT clarify its Hazardous Materials regulations through an official letter\nidentification number. Alternatively, ICBA requests that commercial carbon black, CAS #1333-\n86-4, be delineated in a separate listing that indicates the appropriate transportation restrictions, if\nany. Providing a separate listing will reduce the current confusion freight companies experience\nwhen attempting to classify carbon black and being presented with only the listing for \"carbon\nblack, animal or vegetable origin,\" or UN 1361.\nIf you should have any questions about the information presented or would like to discuss these\nissues further, please do not hesitate to contact me at 806/273-1454\nRespectfully,\nJamming ye, PE, REM.\nJimmy W.\nPresident\nInternational Carbon Black Association\nAttachments\nCC:\nJ. Berry St. John, Jr\nRegistered Office: 149 avenue Louise, 1050 Brussels Belgium\n207060:JOHNSGR\n-3-","truncated":false,"body_characters":7554}