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Interpretation Response #08-0129 ([Volunteer Drum] [Mr. Jack Oody])

Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date:

Company Name: Volunteer Drum

Individual Name: Mr. Jack Oody

Location State: TN Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

June 18, 2008

 

 

Mr. Jack Oody
Volunteer Drum
3311 John Sevier Highway
Knoxville, TN  37914

Ref. No.: 08-0129

Dear Mr. Oody:

This is in response to your May 1, 2008 letter requesting clarification of the shipper’s responsibility for determining that a packaging is authorized under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180).  Specifically, you ask if the HMR require the shipper to maintain a copy of the original test report for a drum manufactured to a DOT specification, and whether a single test report may be used for DOT specification drums that are manufactured using different dimensions than the originally tested design-type.  

The shipper is required to determine that a packaging or container is an authorized packaging under the HMR (see 
§ 173.22(a)(2)).  In making that determination, the shipper may accept the packaging manufacturer’s certification marking on the drum (see § 173.22(a)(3)).  The HMR do not require the shipper to maintain a copy of the original test report; however, the packaging manufacturer must make the test report available to the user of a packaging upon request (see 
§ 178.601(l)).  In addition, a DOT specification drum produced with reductions in the external dimensions (i.e., length, width, or diameter) of up to 25 percent of the dimensions of a tested packaging may be used without additional testing provided an equivalent level of performance is maintained, and the packaging is identical to the tested design-type in all other respects (see § 178.601(g)(3)).

I hope this information is helpful.  Please contact us if you require additional assistance.

Sincerely,

John A. Gale
Chief, Standards Development
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards

173.22(a)(2) 178.601(g)(3)

Regulation Sections