Interpretation Response #11-0205 ([AT&T] [Mr. Jim La Porte])
Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.
Interpretation Response Details
Response Publish Date:
Company Name: AT&T
Individual Name: Mr. Jim La Porte
Location State: MI Country: US
View the Interpretation Document
Response text:
September 28, 2011
Mr. Jim La Porte
AT&T
1670 Axtell
Troy, Michigan 48084
Ref. No.: 11-0205
Dear Mr. La Porte:
This responds to your August 19, 2011 email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171"180) applicable to the transportation of combustible liquids. In your email, you ask for confirmation that the transportation by highway of combustible liquids in non-bulk packagings is not regulated under the HMR. Additionally, you ask for confirmation that the empty packaging requirements in § 173.29 are also not required for those packagings.
The transportation by highway of combustible liquids in non-bulk packagings is not regulated under the HMR. A "combustible liquid" is defined as a material that has a flash point above 60 ºC (140 ºF) and below 93 ºC (200 ºF) and does not meet the definition of any other hazard class under the HMR (see § 173.120(b)(1)). Further, a flammable liquid with a flash point at or above 38 °C (100 °F) that does not meet the definition of any other hazard class may also be reclassed as a combustible liquid by certain modes of transport (see § 173.120(b)(2)). As such, a combustible liquid that is not a hazardous substance, hazardous waste, or a marine pollutant and is packaged in a non-bulk packaging (i.e., a packaging having a liquid capacity of 450 L (119 gallons) or less) is not subject to any other requirements under the HMR (see § 173.150(f)(2)).
Section 173.29 requires that an empty packaging containing a residue of a hazardous material be offered for transportation and transported in the same manner as when it previously contained a greater quantity of that hazardous material, unless it has been sufficiently cleaned of residue and purged of vapors to remove any potential hazard. However, you state in your Email that your material has a flash point at or above 100°F, does not meet the definition of any other hazard class, and it was reclassed as a combustible liquid and shipped by highway in non-bulk packagings. Therefore, as provided under § 173.150(f)(2), no other requirements of the subchapter, including the requirements in § 173.29, apply.
I hope this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division
173.29, 173.120, 173.150