ADCO Services, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Research and Idministration pecial Program: Mr. Len Warbiany JAN 6 2000 Customer Service Manager Ref. No. 99-0207 ADCO Services, Inc. 17650 Duvan Drive Tinley Park, Illinois 60477 Dear Mr. Warbiany: • This is in response to your letter dated July 23, 1999, requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) as they relate to the transportation of radioactive materials under exclusive use. Your specific questions are paraphrased and answered below. Q1. If a shipment of Radioactive material is shipped under "Exclusive use" and the consignor or consignee authorizes the carrier, with radiological training, to do intermediate loading and unloading of other waste or general commodities according to the exclusive use instructions, is this permissive under §§ 173.403, 173.427, 173.447, 173.448 and 177.842? A1. The answer is yes. Section 173.403 defines "Exclusive use" to mean "sole use by a single consignor of a conveyance for which all initial, intermediate, and final loading and unloading are carried out in accordance with the direction of the consignor or consignee...." Since there is no express prohibition of intermediate loading or unloading of other hazardous or non-hazardous material, such intermediate loading or unloading is permitted if performed in accordance with the direction of the (single) consignor or consignee, and conforms to all applicable HMR requirements and those of all of the radioactive material is also fissile. other cognizant agencies are met. For example, additional restrictions apply if some or Note that in the case of LSA or SCO being shipped under the exclusive use provisions of § 173.427, all loading must be done by the consignor and unloading by the consignee in consignor in accordance with § 173.427(a)(6)(iv). accordance with § 173.427(a)(6)(i), and the instructions to the carrier must come from the Q2. If a package of Radioactive material exceeds the limits specified in § 173.441(a), can there still be intermediate loading and unloading of the shipment if the carrier is under a state or Federally regulated "Radiation Protection Program" and are under a "Radiation Dosimetry Program" and have radiological training? 1731411 990207#

Page 2A2. The answer could be yes or no depending on the circumstances. If either the radiation level at the surface of an undamaged package is over 2 mSv/hour or the transport index (TI) is greater than 10, or both, the package and shipment must satisfy the requirements of § 173.441(b), (c) and (d). Section 173.441(b)(1)(iii) states that if the radiation level at the surface of the package is greater than 2 mSv/hour, then intermediate loading and unloading is not permitted. On the other hand, if the TI is greater than 10 but the surface radiation level is not greater he direction of the consignor or the consignee and in conformance with other restriction han 2 mSv/hour, loading and unloading is permitted if performed in conformance wit and conditions of § 173.441(b), (c) and (d). If a package cannot meet the contamination limits specified in Table 11 of § 173.443, and is less than 10 times the limit in Table 11, may it still be shipped under "Exclusive use" in a closed transport vehicle by highway in domestic transportation? A3. The answer is yes, provided the condition prescribed in § 173.443(d) are met. For packages carried in a closed highway vehicle or rail car used solely for the transportation of radioactive material packages, § 173.443(d) allows the amount of surface contamination on the packages to be as high as 40 or 4.0 Bq/cm?, respectively, provided the conditions of that paragraph are satisfied. These conditions include a requirement that the vehicle be stenciled on both sides with the words "For Radioactive Materials Use Only, " in letters at least 76 mm high in a conspicuous place. Note that for packages transported as exclusive use shipments by rail or public highway, § 173.443(b) allows package surface contamination levels as high as 10 times the package surface limits identified in Table 11 (which are 4.0 Bq/cm? and 0.4 Bq/cm?, respectively; the Table 11 values of 0.4 and 0.04 Bq/cm' are the wipe limits, assuring 10% efficiency), so long as the levels at the beginning of transport do not exceed the values of 4.0 and 0.4 Bq/cm?, respectively, identified by Table 11. This provision accommodates "weeping" or other processes that increase contamination on the surface of the package while it is in transit. I hope this information is helpful. Should you have further questions, please contact us. shake z. Mitchall Hattie L. Mitchell, Chief Regulatory Review and Reinvention Office of Hazardous Materials Standards#

Page 3Betts ADCO 173.441 Services. Inc. July 23, 1999 Office of Hazardous Standards U. S. Department of Transportation RSPA DHM-10 Mr. Edward Mazzullo, Director 400 7* Street S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590 Dear Mr. Mazzullo, transporting radioactive materials as Exclusive Use. We have had several discussion I am writing this letter to get an official interpretation of the regulations surrounding within our company and it seems each of us understands the regulations just slightly differently. We would appreciate an official written response to the following questions. #1. It a shipment of "Radioactive Material" is shipped under "Exclusive Use" and the consignor intermediate loading and unloading of other waste and/or general commodities, or consignee authorizes the carrier, with radiological training, to do 173.427, 173.447, 173.448 and 177.842? according to the exclusive use instructions, is this within the regulations under: 173.403, #2. If a package of "Radioactive Material" exceeds the limits specified 173.441(a), can there still be intermediate loading and unloading of the shipment if the in under a "Radiation Dosimetry Program" and have radiological training? carrier is under a state or federally regulated "Radiation Protection Program" and are #3. If a package cannot meet the contamination limits specified in Table 11 of 173.443, and is less than 10 times the limit in Table 11, can it still be shipped under "Exclusive Use" ina closed transport vehicle by highway in domestic transportation? Thank you in advance for your response. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact me. If you prefer, you can fax your response to me at 708-429-9759. Sincerely, Len Warbiany Customer Service Manager 17650 Duvan Drive • Tinley Park, Illinois 60477 • (708) 429-1660 • Fax (708) 429-9759#