Interpretation Response #12-0169 ([LANXESS Corporation] [Ms. Cyndi Fink])
Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.
Interpretation Response Details
Response Publish Date:
Company Name: LANXESS Corporation
Individual Name: Ms. Cyndi Fink
Location State: PA Country: US
View the Interpretation Document
Response text:
October 18, 2012
Ms. Cyndi Fink
Distribution Safety Manager
Industrial and Environmental Affairs
LANXESS Corporation
111 RIDC Park West Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15275
Reference No. 12-0169
Dear Ms. Fink:
This is in response to your August 1, 2012 letter requesting clarification on how to apply the exception in § 171.4(c) of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to a marine pollutant shipment described as "UN 3077, Environmentally hazardous substance, solid, n.o.s., 9 (miscellaneous), PG III" in non-bulk packagings. You state this material is transported in a freight container that is imported into a United States port by vessel under one shipping paper and to its eventual destination by motor vehicle under another shipping paper. We have paraphrased your questions and answered them in the order you provided.
Q1. Since the original vessel shipping paper terminates at the port, is the material still considered a Class 9 material for the portion of its transportation between the port and the final destination (e.g., our warehouse or a customer)?
A1. Provided the material meets the definition of no other hazard class under the HMR and is not a hazardous substance or a hazardous waste, a marine pollutant material that is transported in the United States in non-bulk packages in a manner in which no portion of its transportation occurs by vessel is no longer regulated as a Class 9 material under the HMR (see § 171.4(c)).
Q2. Should the shipping paper for the land portion of the material"s transportation indicate that the material is still regulated?
A2. The answer is no. See A1.
Q3. Does the termination of the vessel shipping paper and subsequent issuing of a new land shipping paper have any bearing on how § 171.4(c) is applied?
A3. The answer is yes. Under § 171.1(c), the transportation of a hazardous material begins when it is offered for shipment to the carrier and the carrier takes possession of the package that contains the material. Transportation of the material ends when the package is delivered to the final destination indicated on the shipping document, package marking, or other medium, the carrier relinquishes possession of the package, and the carrier is no longer responsible for performing functions subject to the HMR for that particular package. In the example you provided, the final destination indicated on the first shipping paper is the United States port. Therefore, from the time the packages of marine pollutant enter United States territorial waters until they are delivered to the port stated on the shipping paper and the carrier relinquishes possession, the shipment must comply with all applicable requirements prescribed for marine pollutants under the HMR.
Q4. What is the final destination of this material"is it the port or is it the location of our customer or warehouse?
A4. Based on the information you provided in your example, the final destination of the material described in the first shipping paper is the designated port; the final destination of the material described in the second shipping paper is the customer or warehouse.
I hope this satisfies your request.
Sincerely,
T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division
171.4, 171.1