Interpretation Response #10-0015 ([Defense Ammunition Center] [Ms. Vickie A. Lewis])

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date: 01/31/2011

Company Name: Defense Ammunition Center

Individual Name: Ms. Vickie A. Lewis

Location State: GA Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

January 31, 2011

Ms. Vickie A. Lewis

Flight Simulation Branch

Aviation Division (FLTSIMBR, AVN DIV)

Defense Ammunition Center

187 Markwell Street, Building 1292

Hunter Army Airfield

Fort Stewart, GA  31409-5503

Reference No. 10-0015

Dear Ms. Lewis:

This is in response to your letter and subsequent telephone conversation with a member of my staff requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to hazardous materials communication.  Specifically, you ask how to determine if a material is a poisonous-by-inhalation or toxic-by-inhalation hazard when the proper shipping name and other information that accompany it do not include the words "poison," "toxic," "poison-inhalation hazard (PIH)," or "toxic-inhalation hazard," herein described as PIH.  In your letter, you state your military shipping facility receives hazardous materials from a variety of manufacturers that sometimes do not include their product"s hazard classification information.  You also state your facility often has no time to retrieve this information before it must prepare these materials for rapid deployment overseas.  Your questions have been paraphrased and answered in the order you provided. 

Q1.      If I put the POISON INHALATION HAZARD warning label (see § 172.429) on a package that contains "UN 1052, Hydrogen fluoride, anhydrous, 8 (corrosive), 6.1 (poison), Packing Group (PG) I," do I have to communicate this hazard on the shipping paper?  The entry for this material on the Hazardous Materials Table (HMT; § 172.101) includes Special Provision 3 in Column 7.  This provision states hydrogen fluoride anhydrous meets the criteria for a PIH Hazard Zone C, but does not refer to § 173.133, which prescribes how to assign the PG and hazard zone for a Division 6.1 material.  Note 2 under the § 173.133(a)(2)(i) table states only liquid PG I, Hazard Zone A and B materials meeting the criteria prescribed in § 173.133(a)(2) are subject to additional shipping paper (§ 172.203(m)), marking (§ 172.313), and placarding (§ 172.504(e), Table 1) requirements for PIH materials. 

A1.      The answer is yes.  "UN 1052, Hydrogen fluoride, anhydrous" is a Class 8, Division 6.1 liquid that meets the definition of a Zone C "material poisonous by inhalation" in § 171.8.  Although § 172.203(m) does not require that the Zone C liquid material poisonous-by-inhalation hazard be communicated on a shipping paper, § 172.402(a)(2) requires that a PG I, Division 6.1 subsidiary hazard label be displayed on the package.  In addition, § 172.202(a)(3) requires that the subsidiary hazard be entered on a shipping paper when a subsidiary hazard label is required (also see §§ 172.400(b), 172.429(a), and 172.442(a)).  Please note the words "Inhalation Hazard" are not required to be marked on the package if they appear on the hazard label (see § 172.313(a)).  The motor vehicle, railcar, aircraft unit load device, or other transport vehicle the material is transported on is also required to display the POISON INHALATION HAZARD placard because the material is subject to the shipping description requirements for a poisonous-by-inhalation hazard (see § 172.505(a)).

Q2.      The hazardous materials listed here all have Special Provision 5 in Column 7 of their respective entries on the § 172.101 Table, which tells me if these materials meet the definition of a PIH material, I must select a proper shipping name that identifies them as such. 

Attaching a PIH label to the package can easily be accomplished.  The concern is how do I determine which item is a PIH if this information is not shown on the HMT and not provided by the shipper and/or manufacturer, and what if anything has to be annotated on the document?  Again, § 173.133(a)(2)(i), Note 2, states only those items in Zones A and B must be annotated in accordance with § 172.203(m).

A2.      Under § 173.22, it is the shipper's responsibility to properly classify a hazardous material before it is offered for or transported in commerce.  As stated in Answer A1, the shipper is also responsible for stating the PIH hazard on the shipping paper, label, and placard that accompany the material.  If the words "Inhalation Hazard" do not appear on the label or placard, they must appear on the package marking (see § 172.313(a)).  Packages of PIH materials that do not include this information are in violation of the HMR and must not be offered for transportation in commerce.  You can obtain classification information about a hazardous material from the product manufacturer or its material safety data sheet for the product, or by using methods prescribed in the HMR that include product testing or the use of reliable data or documented experience (see §§ 173.132 and 173.133 for Division 6.1 liquids).  Also, § 173.133, Note 2, states that Division 6.1,  PG I, Zone A and B liquids must be annotated in conformance with § 172.203(m)(2), marked in conformance with § 172.313, and placarded in conformance with Table 1 of § 172.504(e), but does not exclude other PIH materials from having to comply with these requirements.

Q3.      These hazardous materials entries have Special Provision 6 in Column 7 of the HMT.  This means they are PIH materials and must include this in their hazard communication.  Again, a POISON GAS label can be applied to the item.  The concern is what if any requirement is there for the shipping paper under § 172.203(m).  That is, how do I determine which zone to communicate?

A3.      See Answer A2.

I hope this satisfies your request.

Sincerely,

T. Glenn Foster

Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch

Standards and Regulations Division

172.402, 171.8, 173.133

Regulation Sections