Interpretation Response #11-0038 ([Los Alamos National Laboratory] [Mr. Donald Thorp])
Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.
Interpretation Response Details
Response Publish Date:
Company Name: Los Alamos National Laboratory
Individual Name: Mr. Donald Thorp
Location State: NM Country: US
View the Interpretation Document
Response text:
April 21, 2011
Mr. Donald Thorp
Engineering Manager
Los Alamos National Laboratory
P.O. Box 1663, MS A194
Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
Ref. No.: 11-0038
Dear Mr. Thorp:
This responds to your February 15, 2011 letter requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask if any of the general packaging requirements in § 173.24 apply to a consignment containing radionuclides in quantities that do not exceed both the activity concentration and the total activity limits specified in the table in § 173.436 or the values derived according to the instruction in § 173.433.
The answer is no. Radioactive Material (see § 173.403) means any material containing radionuclides where both the activity concentration and the total activity in the consignment exceed the values specified in the table in § 173.436 or values derived according to the instructions in § 173.433. Based on the information you provide, the consignment is not regulated as a Class 7 (radioactive) material under the HMR because it does not meet the definition of radioactive material. Therefore, provided the material contained in the consignment does not otherwise meet the definition of a hazardous material in § 171.8, the packaging used for the consignment described in your letter is not subject to the HMR (including § 173.24).
I trust this satisfies your inquiry. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Ben Supko
Acting Chief, Standards Development Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division
173.403, 173.433