{"operation":"document","citation":"99-0230","title":"CleanHarbors Environmental Services, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation","source_type":"guidance","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"guidance","official":true,"published_on":"2000-04-05","effective_on":null,"summary":"99-0230 response to CleanHarbors Environmental Services, Inc. concerning 173.21.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-99-0230.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-99-0230.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-interpretation-99-0230","source_url":"https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/legacy/interpretations/Interpretation%20Files/1999/990230.pdf","body":"<<<PAGE 1>>>\n\nU.S. Department\nof Transportation\nWashington, D.C.\nResearch and\nSpecial Programs\nAdministration\nAPR - 5 2000\nDirector of Regulatory Affairs\nMr. Peter W. Egan\nRef. No. 99-0230\nCleanHarbors Environmental Services, Inc.\n1501 Washington Street\nBraintree, MA\n02185\nDear Mr. Egan:\nThis responds to your letter of August 13, 1999, concerning\nrequirements for shipping a hazardous waste mixture under the\nHazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180).\nSpecifically, you ask about shipment of a waste corrosive\nliquid that emits a very low level of hydrocyanic acid (HCN).\nYou describe the waste material, called Alodine, as a mixture\ncomposed of 99% water, 0.5% chromic acid, 0.5% potassium\nferricyanide, and less than 0.18 nitric acid. You have\ndetermined that waste Alodine\nis properly classed and\ndescribed as RQ Waste Corrosive Liquid, Acidic, Inorganic,\nn.o.s. (Chromic Acid), 8, UN 3264, PG II. You state that\nmixture does not meet\nthe definition of a Division 6.1\n(poisonous) material. However, over time, Alodine emits very\nsmall mounts of HCN, which can\naccumulate in the headspace of\nthe 55 gallon drums or bulk packagings in which it is\ntransported.\nYou ask if there is\nan upper limit on the amount\nof HCN that may accumulate in the headspace of a non-bulk or\nbulk packaging above which the shipment of waste Alodine would\nbe prohibited under the HMR.\nUnder § 173.22 of the HMR, it is the shipper's responsibility\nto determine the appropriate class for a hazardous material.\nSuch determinations are not required to be verified by this\nit does not appe that the he mored or you provided,\noffice. However,\n173.21\n990230\n\n<<<PAGE 2>>>\n\nduring transportation.\naccumulate in amounts sufficient to present a safety hazard\ntransportation as a Class 8 material pursuant to the HMR.\nThus, waste Alodine may be offered for\nI hope this information is helpful. If you have further\nquestions, please do not hesitate to contact this office.\nSincerely,\none A. Cell\nThomas G. Allan\nSenior Transportation Regulations Specialist\nOffice\nof Hazardous Materials\nStandards\n\n<<<PAGE 3>>>\n\nCleanHarbors\nENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES, INC.\nKürirry\n1501 Washington Street, P.O. Box 850327 • Braintree, MA 02185-0327\n(781) 849-1800\n$134(c)\nVisit our Website at www.cleanharbors.com\n99-0230\nCertified Mail\n- Return Receipt Requested (Z 318 705 979)\nAugust 13, 1999\noffice of Hazardous Materials Standards, DHM-10\nMI.\nEdward M. Mazzullo, Director\nResearch and Special Programs Administration\nU.S. Department of Transportation\nWashington, DC\n400 7th Street, SW\nRe: Request for Regulatory Clarification\nDear Mr. Mazzullo:\nClean Harbors Environmental Services, Inc. (CHESI) is a national\nprovider of hazardous materials and hazardous waste transportationf\nto request\nthat\nUnited States Department\nTransportation\n(USDOT) provide\ncontains low levels of\nclarification\nof hydrocyanic acid (HCN) .\nHEST discussed this question with Mr. George Cushmac of your stati\non June 22, 1999.\nMr. Cushmac asked that CHESI submit its request\nto the USDOT in\nwriting.\nCHESI believes that, during shipment, the material described below\ndoes not generate\nvapors\nin a quantity sufficient to produce a\ndangerous atmosphere, does not pose a threat to safety,\nand is\ntherefore acceptable\nfor transportation under USDOT, regulations.\ndescribed\nis not\nCFR 173.21 (e),\n49\n173.24 (e) (4) (ii)\n49 CFR\n177.848 (c) ; CHESI'S\nrationale\nCFR\nis\npresented below.\nCHESI requests that the USDOT review this rationale, and notify\nCHESI as to whether or not the USDOT agrees that the\nmaterial may\nbe offered for transportation pursuant to 49 CFR Subchapter C.\n\"Peoble and Technoloev Protecting and Restoring America's Environment\"\n\n<<<PAGE 4>>>\n\nCleanHarbors*\nAugust\nEdward Mazzullo\nPage\n2\n13, 1999\nof\n4\nBackground\nCHESI provides waste transportation\nservices to several customers\nwho\ninvolved in\nmaterials\nfabrication,\nand\nwho\nutilize\nchemicals\nwhich\ncontain\nacids\nand\ncyanides\nwhich\nhave\nbeen\nintentionally mixed together.\nOne such chemical is called Alodine\n(trademarked),\nand is used to prepare the surface of certain metals\nto accept various\ncoatings.\nA solution of Alodine used for this\npurpose is typically comprised of 99% water, 0.5% chromic acid, and\n0.5% potassium ferricyanide (a complex cyanide) ;\nthe solution may\nalso contain a small amount of nitric acid (~0.1%).\nThe Alodine solution is typically stored in 2500 gallon open\npieces of metal may be immersed in the vats as part of a surface\ntanks\nvats\ninside the\nmanufacturing\ncoating process.\nThese vats are located in an open work area,\nfacility personnel work in the immediate area of the vats.\nevacuate or remove the HCN which slowly evolves from the Alodine.\nare no\nspecial air purifying or ventilation systems in place to\nCHESI' S\ncustomers who\nthis\nmaterial have performed air\nmonitoring to\nensure the safety of\ntheir employees.\nmonitoring has\nshown that the\n\"reaction rate of the potassium\nan HCN exposure risk to personnel working in the immediate area of\nferricyanide and the chromic acid is slow enough that there is not\nthe vats.\nEventually the Alodine loses its efficacy and consequently meets\nthe definition of\na hazardous waste pursuant to\nResource\nConservation and Recovery Act.\nIt must then be transferred offsite\nproperly licensed\ndisposal\nfacility.\nshipment\noffsite, a proper USDOT shipping description is determined, and the\npackaging is then\nUtilizing the criteria for\nselecting a proper shipping name pursuant to 49 CFR 172,101(12),\nthe proper shipping\ndescription\nfor the material is RO\nCorrosive\nLiquid, Acidic,\nInorganic,\nn.o.s. (Chromic Acid),\nAlthough\nmaterial\npotassium\nferricyanide, the solution does not meet the defining criteria for\nin $173.132.\nPrior to shipment offsite,\nthe material may be stored in the\npackaging for up to 90 days. In some cases, HCN slowly evolves from\nthe liquid and accumulates in the headspace of the packaging (e.g.,\n55 gallon drum) •\nMonitoring of the headspace in several drums\nindicated HCN concentrations of 12 parts per million (ppm) HCN.\nIn\nsome cases\nit is possible that the concentration may reach higher\nlevels.\n\n<<<PAGE 5>>>\n\nCleanHarbors®\nEdward Mazzullo\nAugust\nPage\n3\nof\n13,\n4\n1999\nRationale\nCHESI believes that this type of acidic cyanide solution with a low\nemission rate would not release hydrocyanic acid in a concentration\nduring\ntransportation.\noffered for transport in 55 gallon drums with an HCN concentratior\n\"HESI believes that this material may be safely\nn the headspace ranging up\nto 250 ppm.\n50 ppm as a maximum follows\nAssuming that a 55 gallon drum is 90% full of the Alodine solution,\napproximately 5.5 gallons of void space is present in the head of\nthe drum.\nCHESI has conservatively assumed that the void space is\n102 7. 8 gayative\nAssuming that there is a release of the entire one cubic foot of\ndrum (e.g.. through the bung cap), which contains HCN\n250 ppm, the diluted\nconcentration in 25\ncubic feet of air space surrounding the top of the drum would equal\n10 ppm.\nTwenty five (25) cubic feet would consist of the air space\nlocated within two\n(2) feet above the drum, and within a two (2)\nfoot radius around the drum.\nThe United States\nOccupational Health and Safety Administration\n(OSHA) has established a permissible exposure limit (PEL)\nof 10\nppm for HCN.\nThe PEL represents the concentration at which an\nindividual can be exposed for eight (8) hours without any adverse\neffects.\nCHESI believes that, in the event of a release of air from the\nheadspace of a drum\nof Alodine during\n•transportation, dilution of\nthe HCN concentration\ndue to dispersion in the\nimmediately\nround the top and sides of the drum would be sufficient to remov\nny threat of dangerous\nvapors to\nindividuals\nwithin two feet of the drum.\nFurthermore,\nin the\nrelease of solution from the packaging,\n\"generation of additional\nHCN from the solution would be\nthat it would not pose an\nimmediate danger to individuals in the area.\nWaste\nAlodine solution may also be offered for transortation by\nCHESI's\ncustomers\nin bulk packaging (e.g., 5000 gallon transport\nvehicle) •\nIn this case, CHESI believes\nthat a concentration of 10\nppm HCN\n(OSHA PEL)\nthe headspace of the bulk packaging is\nacceptable.\n\n<<<PAGE 6>>>\n\nCleanHarbors®\nEdward Mazzullo\nAugust\nPage\n4\n13, 1999\nof\n4\nRequest for Guidance\nCHESI\nrequests\nthat\nthe\nUSDOT provide\nCHESI responses to the\nfollowing questions.\n1.\nshipment of the above described Alodine solution in a 55\nsmaller)\ncontainer\nconcentration of\nHCN in\nthe headspace of the packaging 1\nor less\nthan 250 ppm prohibited pursuant to\n49 CFR\n173.21 (e), 49 CFR 173.24 (e) (4) (ii) or 49 CFR 177.848 (c)?\n2.\nIs\nshipment of an Alodine solution in a\n. bulk packaging in\nwhich\nthe\nof HCN\nin the headspace\nof the\nackaging is equal to or less than 10 pm prohibited pursuant\nto\n49\nCFR\n49 CFR 173.24 (e) (4) (11)\n177.848 (c)? If so,\nwhat concentration of HCN in the headspace\nof the bulk packaging would be acceptable?\n3.\nWould shipment of an\nAlodine solution in a bulk packaging in\nwhich the concentration\nHCN in the headspace\nis greater\nthan 10 ppm\nacceptable?\nis the\nmaximum\nconcentration that would be allowed in the headspace of a bulk\npackaging?\nPlease direct your response to my attention at the address on the\nletterhead.\nPlease don't hesitate to contact me at 781-849-1800\nextension\n1278\nif you have an questions or require additional\ninformation.\nSincerely,\nAt w.f\nPeter W.\nDirector\nof Regulatory Affairs\nEgan\ncc: George Cushmac, USDOT","truncated":false,"body_characters":9434}