Interpretation Response #04-0159 ([Chenega Technology Services Corporation] [Mr. Christopher Purdom])

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date: 10/25/2004

Company Name: Chenega Technology Services Corporation

Individual Name: Mr. Christopher Purdom

Location State: VA Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

Oct 25, 2004

Mr. Christopher Purdom                 Reference No. 04-0159
Systems Technology Trainer
Chenega Technology Services Corporation
NEEMR/Customs and Border Protection
10720 Richmond Highway, Suite H
Lorton, VA 22079

Dear Mr. Purdom:

This responds to your letter requesting clarification of the shipping paper requirements for a Radioactive material in § 172.203 of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR parts 17 1-180). Your questions are paraphrased and answered as follows:

Q1. Is a shipper required to list on the shipping paper only those radioactive isotopes that are listed on the package label?

Al. Although the radionuclides listed on the shipping paper and label are often the same, this is not always the case. Section 172.203(d) requires the description of a Radioactive material on a shipping paper to include the name of each radionuclide in the material that is listed in § 173.435. For mixtures of radionuclides, the radionuclides that must be shown on the shipping paper must be determined in accordance with § 173.433(g). Similarly, § 172.403 refers to § 173.435 and, in the case of mixtures, to § 173.433(g) for the names of radionuclides that must be shown on the label - with two exceptions: 1) in the case of LSA-I materials, the term “LSA-I” may be used on the label in place of the names of the radionuclides; and 2) in the case of mixtures of radionuclides, the HMR recognize that space on the label may limit the number of radionuclides that can be listed.

We moved the shipping paper and labeling requirements for radioactive materials in § 173.433 from paragraph (0 to paragraph (g) in a final rule published January 26, 2004 (RSPA Docket No. 99-6283 (HM-230); 69 FR 3677), but failed to update the references in § 172.203(d)(1) and 172.403(g)(1). This will be corrected in a future rulemaking.

Q2. Which radionuclides need not be considered when determining radionuclides that must be listed on the Radioactive label?

A2. For mixtures of radionuclides, you must use the formula in § 173.433(g) to determine which radionuclides in the mixture need not be listed on shipping papers and labels. The formula requires you to include enough of the radionuclides present to account for at least 95% of the total “hazard”, where the “hazard” for radionuclide “i” is defined as the ratio of the activity (a(i) in the package to its corresponding A1 (special form) or A2 (normal form) value. Thus, you may omit listing radionuclides if the sum of a(i)/A(i) of those omitted is no more than 5% of the sum of a(i)/A(i) for all radionuclides in the package. Also see answer Al above.

Q3. What does the term “mixture” mean?

A3. The term “mixture” is defined in § 171 .8 to mean “a material composed of more than one chemical compound or element.” In the case of a radioactive material shipment, for purposes of determining which isotopes to include in the shipping description and on the labels, and to calculate most of the effective basic radionuclide values (A1 for the package, A2 for the package, and the exempt consignment activity) in § 173.433, “mixture” refers to the combination of different radionuclides in the same package or consignment, even when they are separated physically from one another.

I trust this satisfies your request.

Sincerely,

Hattie L. Mitchell
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards

172.203(d)

Regulation Sections