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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Interpretation Response #17-0027 ([Vianna Zimbel Consultting] [Ms. Vianna Zimbel])

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date:

Company Name: Vianna Zimbel Consultting

Individual Name: Ms. Vianna Zimbel

Location State: CT Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

June 01, 2017

Ms. Vianna Zimbel
Vianna Zimbel Consulting
97 Foote Road
South Glastonbury, CT 06073

Reference No. 17-0027

Dear Ms. Zimbel:

This letter is in response to your March 16, 2017, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the Materials of Trade (MOTs) exceptions. Specifically, you ask whether your client, Home Medical Equipment Suppliers, is eligible for MOTs exceptions under the HMR when transporting and delivering medical oxygen cylinders to customer residences. You describe a scenario in which your client delivers the medical oxygen in cylinders weighing less than 100 kg (220 lbs) each and transports no more than 200 kg (440 lbs) of hazardous materials on each motor vehicle. Based on this transportation scenario, you ask whether your client meets the definition of a private carrier under MOTs and if shipping paper requirements apply.

It is the opinion of this Office that your client is eligible for the MOTs exceptions under the scenario described in your email. Section 171.8 defines MOTs to include a private motor carrier transporting hazardous materials in direct support of a principal business that is other than transportation by motor vehicle. A private motor carrier is a carrier who transports the business’s own products and does not provide such transportation service to other businesses.

In addition to meeting the definition of MOTs in § 171.8, the applicable requirements in § 173.6 must be met. For example —

  • Paragraph (b)(5) states a cylinder must conform to the packaging, qualification, maintenance, and use requirements under the HMR and must be leak tight, securely closed, secured against movement, and protected against damage.
  • Paragraph (c)(3) states a DOT specification cylinder must be marked and labeled in accordance with the HMR.
  • Paragraph (c)(4) states the operator of the motor vehicle must be informed of the presence of the hazardous material.
  • Paragraph (a)(2) limits a Division 2.2 material in a cylinder to a gross weight not over 100 kg (220 lbs).
  • Paragraph (d) limits the aggregate gross weight of all hazardous materials on one motor vehicle to not more than 200 kg (440 lbs).
  • Paragraph (a) states that a hazardous material meeting the MOTs definition in § 171.8 is subject only to the applicable shipping paper requirements in § 173.6; therefore, such shipments are excepted from the shipping paper requirements of the HMR.

I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.

Sincerely,

 

T. Glenn Foster
Chief, Regulatory Review and Reinvention Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division

171.8, 173.6

Regulation Sections