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Interpretation Response #10-0233 ([Veolia ES Technical Solutions, L.L.C] [Ms. Jennifer Eberle])

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date:

Company Name: Veolia ES Technical Solutions, L.L.C

Individual Name: Ms. Jennifer Eberle

Location State: NJ Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

February 17, 2011

 

 

 

Ms. Jennifer Eberle,

Veolia ES Technical Solutions, L.L.C

1 Eden Lane

Flanders, NJ 07836

Reference No.: 10-0233

Dear Ms. Eberle:

This is in response to your email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the transportation of Division 4.1 (self-reactive) and Division 5.2 (organic peroxide) materials under the lab pack exception found in § 173.12. Specifically, you ask whether the amendments of the HM-233A final rule, "Hazardous Materials: Incorporation of Special Permits into Regulations" published on May 14, 2010 in the Federal Register (74 FR 53413) authorize the transport of Division 4.1 and Division 5.2 materials, that are required to be temperature controlled, as lab packs under § 173.12(b) of the HMR.

A hazardous material, such as Division 4.1 or Division 5.2, that is required to be temperature controlled may be offered for transportation in a lab pack packaging that complies with § 173.12(b) provided this packaging also complies with the requirements for a temperature controlled packaging prescribed § 173.21(f). Under the HMR, any package that contains any material likely to decompose with a self-accelerated decomposition temperature (SADT) of 50 ºC (122 ºF) or less, or polymerize at a temperature of 54 ºC (130 ºF) or less with an evolution of dangerous gas when decomposing or polymerizing must not be transported unless the material is stabilized or inhibited in a manner that precludes such decomposition (see § 173.21(f), introductory paragraph). Decomposition is achieved when a material meets or exceeds its specific control temperature and can be prevented by transporting the material under controlled temperature conditions prescribed in § 173.21(f)(1), (f)(2) or (f)(3), or by mixing the material with an inert, non-combustible absorbent material, such as clean sand or non-acidic clay, in an amount that temperature control of the material is no longer required.

On May 14, 2010, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published final rule HM-233A, which incorporated widely-used special permits into the HMR. As part of this rulemaking, Special Permit DOT-SP 13192, which authorized the transport of waste Division 5.2 materials in lab pack packagings, was incorporated into the HMR effective October 1, 2010. Division 4.1 materials were already permitted in lab packs under § 173.12(b)(1). Section 173.12(b) permits certain waste materials to be placed in non-specification packagings that conform to the requirements in this paragraph. Hazardous materials placed in lab packs are also subject to additional safety control measures designed to mitigate the risks presented by these materials, such as quantity limitations, additional packaging, and segregation requirements. However, these control measures do not eliminate the requirement that lab packs containing materials required to be temperature controlled must also comply with § 173.21(f)(1).

I hope this satisfies your inquiry.

Sincerely,

T. Glenn Foster

Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch

Standards and Rulemaking Division

173.12, 173.21(f)(1)

 

Regulation Sections