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This letter is in response to your September 11, 2017, letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the limited quantity exception for aerosols. You describe a scenario in which pressurized metal canisters are filled with purified butane gas and used to refill small handheld tools. The butane is stored in the canister as a liquefied gas but is expelled in liquid form. You ask whether this can be considered an aerosol and be shipped under the exception in § 173.306(a)(3).
The answer is no. In accordance with § 171.8, an aerosol is defined as an article consisting of any non-refillable receptacle containing a gas compressed, liquefied or dissolved under pressure, the sole purpose of which is to expel a nonpoisonous (other than a Division 6.1 Packing Group III material) liquid, paste, or powder and fitted with a self-closing release device allowing the contents to be ejected by the gas. A liquefied compressed gas packaged without a liquid, paste, or powder in the container does not meet the definition of an aerosol and, therefore, is not eligible for the exception.
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