Interpretation Response #11-0141 ([Kajuligan Corporation] [Mr. Clifford Croft])
Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.
Interpretation Response Details
Response Publish Date:
Company Name: Kajuligan Corporation
Individual Name: Mr. Clifford Croft
Location State: IL Country: US
View the Interpretation Document
Response text:
August 12, 2011
Mr. Clifford Croft
Director of Regulatory Compliance
Kajuligan Corporation
1533 Kirkwood Drive
Geneva, IL 60134
Reference No. 11-0141
Dear Mr. Croft:
This is in response to your March 22, 2011 letter, postmarked June 30, 2011, and subsequent July 13, 2011 telephone conversation on behalf of your client with a member of my staff concerning "Asepticare TB+II," a cleaner and disinfectant. You enclosed a material safety data sheet (MSDS) that states this product contains by volume: 73 percent water; 21 percent "Propan-2-ol" alcohol, 2 percent "2-butoxyethanol;" 0.154 percent "alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride;" and 0.154 percent "quarternary ammonium compounds, benzyl-c12-18-alkyldimethyl, chlorides." The MSDS also states the product has a flash point of 30 ºC (86 ºF) and a boiling point greater than 35 ºC (95 ºF). Specifically, you ask if Asepticare TB+II is excepted from regulation in all modes of transportation under § 173.150(e) of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). We have paraphrased your questions and answered them in the order you provided.
Q1. Does the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) agree that Asepticare TB+II is not subject to regulation under the HMR because the components in this product conform with the exceptions in § 173.150(e)? The MSDS you provided states the product is not regulated under the HMR. In addition, per a discussion with PHMSA staff, you state you discussed with your staff that undiluted propan-o-l may be described as a "UN 1219, Isopropanol, 3 (flammable liquid), Packing Group (PG) III" under the HMR, but 2-butoxyethanol has an oral toxicity LD50 value of 470 mg/kg (rat), which you state means it does not meet the definition for a Division 6.1 (poisonous) material under the HMR.
A1. The answer is no. Section 173.150(e) permits an aqueous solution containing 24 percent or less alcohol by volume and no other hazardous material to be either reclassed as a combustible liquid or excepted from regulation under the HMR if it contains 50 percent or more water. Although your client"s solution contains 24 percent or less alcohol by volume and more than 50 percent water, based on the information you provided your client"s solution also contains 1) 5 percent of "UN 2810, Toxic liquid, organic, n.o.s. (2-butoxyethanol), 6.1 (poisonous) PG III;" 2) 0.154 percent "UN 2922, Corrosive liquid, toxic, n.o.s. (alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride), 8, 6.1, PG III; " and 3) 0.154 percent of "quarternary ammonium compounds, benzyl-c12-18-alkyldimethyl, chlorides," a substance that may be regulated as a pesticide under the Environmental Protection Agency"s Toxic Substances and Control Act (TSCA). For more information on the EPA"s TSCA regulations concerning pesticides, you may wish to contact its Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics at telephone number (202) 564-3810, or their information service at telephone number (202) 554-1404.
Q2. Does the exception prescribed in § 173.150(e)(2) apply to domestic air transportation?
A2. The answer is yes. The HMR applies to the domestic transportation of hazardous materials by aircraft in commerce to, from and within the United States. However, most aircraft carriers prefer to comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Technical Instructions for the Safe Transportation of Dangerous Goods by Air (Technical Instructions). The HMR authorizes compliance with these instructions provided the provisions prescribed in 49 CFR Part 171, Subpart C, are met. Further, the ICAO Technical Instructions also except from regulation aqueous solutions that contain 24 percent or less alcohol by volume (see Part 3, Chapter 3, Table 3-2 (Special Provisions)).
Q3. Is Asepticare TB+II excepted from regulation under the HMR because it is an aqueous solution of alcohol or because it is reclassed as a combustible liquid?
A3. Based on the information you provided, Asepticare TB+II is not excepted from regulation under the HMR. It does not meet the criteria for an aqueous solution containing 24 percent or less alcohol by volume because it contains other hazardous materials that are not alcohols. In addition, it does not meet the definition of a combustible liquid because it has a flash point of 86 ºF and contains other hazardous materials. A "combustible liquid" is a material that has a flash point above 60 ºC (140 ºF) and below 93 ºC (200 ºF) that does not meet the definition of any other HMR hazard class (see § 173.120(b)(1)). A flammable liquid may be reclassed as a combustible liquid provided it has a flash point at or above 38 ºC (100 ºF) but not exceeding 60 ºC (140 ºF) and also does not meet the definition of any other HMR hazard class (see § 173.120(b)(2)).
Q4. If Asepticare TB+II is shipped by aircraft, does the packaging have to meet the general requirements for transportation by aircraft prescribed in § 173.27?
A4. The answer is yes. All hazardous materials transported by aircraft must conform to the general requirements for transporting hazardous materials by aircraft prescribed § 173.27, as well as all other applicable requirements under the HMR.
Q5. Does the flashpoint of Asepticare TB+II have anything to do with the exception for aqueous solutions of alcohol prescribed in § 173.150(e)(2)?
A5. The answer is no. See Answer A1.
I hope this satisfies your request.
Sincerely,
T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division
173.150, 173.27, 173.120