Interpretation Response #09-0270 ([The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California] [Mr. John E. Clark])
Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.
Interpretation Response Details
Response Publish Date:
Company Name: The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Individual Name: Mr. John E. Clark
Location State: CA Country: US
View the Interpretation Document
Response text:
March 23, 2010
Mr. John E. Clark
Program Manager, Hazardous Materials
Environmental Health and Safety Program Support
The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
PO Box 54153
Los Angeles, California 90054-0153
Ref. No. 09-0270
Dear Mr. Clark:
This is in response to your October 28, 2009 letter regarding the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to unloading operations involving cargo tanks and rail tank cars. Specifically, you ask whether employees who handle various functions related to cargo tank and rail tank unloading operations meet the definition of a "hazardous material employee" under § 171.8 and are thus subject to the training requirements of Part 172, Subpart H.
According to your letter, your facility receives and unloads hazardous materials in cargo tank and rail tank cars. Cargo tank unloading operations are handled by the cargo tank driver, under the supervision of a facility employee. The facility employee checks paperwork, inspects the cargo tank to ensure there are no leaks, directs the cargo tank driver to the appropriate storage tank, checks the unloading lines and valves, and monitors the actual unloading as it is performed by the cargo tank driver. Rail tank car unloading operations are handled by a facility employee after railroad personnel detach the car from the train and depart the facility.
Requirements in the HMR apply to transportation of a hazardous material in commerce and each person who transports a hazardous material in commerce. See § 171.1(c). For purposes of the HMR, "transportation" means the movement of property and loading, unloading, and storage incidental to that movement. "Unloading incidental to movement" means removing a packaged or containerized hazardous material from a transport vehicle or emptying a hazardous material from a bulk packaging after the hazardous material has been delivered to its destination when the unloading operation is performed by carrier personnel or in the presence of carrier personnel. A "hazmat employee" is a person employed on a full-time, part-time, or temporary basis who in the course of such employment directly affects hazardous materials transportation safety. (See § 171.8 for the definitions of "transportation," "unloading incidental to movement," and "hazmat employee.")
The unloading operations involving cargo tanks that are described in your letter meet the definition of "unloading incidental to movement," and, thus, are regulated as transportation functions under the HMR. The employees responsible for overseeing the cargo tank unloading operations are hazmat employees and must be trained in accordance with Subpart H of Part 172.
The unloading operations involving rail tank cars that are described in your letter do not meet the definition of "unloading incidental to movement," and, thus, are not regulated as transportation functions under the HMR. The employees responsible for performing rail tank car unloading operations are not hazmat employees and are not subject to the transportation requirements in Subpart H of Part 172. However, these employees may be subject to the training requirements of other Federal agencies (e.g., OSHA) as well as State and local governments.
I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Hattie L. Mitchell
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention
Office of Hazardous Materials Standards
172. Subpart H, 171.8
Regulation Sections
| Section | Subject |
|---|---|
| 171.8 | Definitions and abbreviations |