Interpretation Response #05-0196 ([Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality] [Mr. Robert Hunter])

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date: 03/27/2006

Company Name: Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality

Individual Name: Mr. Robert Hunter

Location State: AR Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

Mar 27, 2006

Mr. Robert Hunter                                                   Reference No. 05-0196
Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality
8001 National Drive
P.C. Box 8913
Little Rock, AR 72219-8913

Dear Mr. Hunter:
This responds to your request for clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (49 CFR; HMR Parts 171-180) and its applicability to the transportation of equipment that contains mercury. You state that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) added mercury-containing equipment to its list of universal wastes, as regulated under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). You ask how this effects a commercial motor carrier transporting electronic waste and whether the equipment may be placed on pallets and surrounded with stretch wrap.

A material is subject to the IIMR if it meets the definition under the HMR of a hazardous waste, a hazardous substance, a marine pollutant, or any hazard class. A hazardous waste, as defined in § 171.8 for the purposes of transportation, is a material that is subject to the Uniform Hazardous Waste Manifest (UHWM) requirements of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as specified in 40 CFR Part 262. Therefore, if a material is subject to the UHWM requirements, the material will, at a minimum, meet the definition of a hazardous waste under the HMR.

As indicated by the letter “An” in Column of the § 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table, “Mercury contained in manufactured articles is subject to the HMR when transported by aircraft. When being transported by other modes of transportation, it is regulated as a hazardous substance (see definition in § 171.8) if the amount of mercury contained in one package is one pound or more. The packaging requirements and exceptions for mercury contained in manufactured articles are specified in § 173.164. Provided the packaging requirements are met in § 173.164, and in § 173.27 for transportation by aircraft, the
packages may be overpacked on pallets with stretch wrap. The required HMR markings and labels must either be visible through the stretch wrap or be visibly displayed on the stretch wrap.

I hope this information is helpful. Please contact this office should you have additional questions.

Sincerely,

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

173.164

Regulation Sections