Interpretation Response #18-0013

Interpretation Response Details

July 13, 2018

Kristie Absher
Senior Consultant
Environmental Resource Center
101 Center Pointe Drive
Cary, NC  27513

Reference No. 18-0013

Dear Ms. Absher:

This letter is in response to your December 11, 2017 letter; your subsequent January 25, 2018 letter; and a recent phone conversation with a member of my staff requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to authorized quantity exceptions for hazardous materials.

Specifically, you provide six scenarios where you have an inner receptacle (tube) that contains two materials  in different quantities.  You state that Material A (i.e., “UN3089, Metal powders, flammable, n.o.s., 4.1, II”) will be tightly compacted in the bottom portion of the tube and Material B will be placed loosely inside the tube above Material A without a physical barrier separating the two components from mixing.

We have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows:

Q1. You ask if the small quantity limit in § 173.4 applies only to Material A or to the combined amount of Material A and Material B in the inner receptacle with respect to the 30-gram limit for a Division 4.1 hazardous material.

A1. The small quantity limit applies to the hazardous material, Material A.  Based on the information you provided and the understanding that Material B is not a hazardous material in accordance with the HMR, Material A cannot exceed the maximum inner receptacle quantity limit of 30 grams (1 ounce) for a Division 4.1, PG II, flammable solid material.

Q2. You ask if the excepted quantity limit in § 173.4a applies only to Material A or to the combined amount of Material A and Material B with respect to the 30-gram limit per inner packaging and 500-gram limit per outer packaging for Division 4.1, Packing Group (PG) II material.

A2. The excepted quantity limits apply to the hazardous material, Material A.  Based on the information you provided, Material A may not exceed the maximum inner packaging limit of 30 grams (1 ounce) for solids.  In addition, the outer packaging aggregate quantity limit for Material A cannot exceed the maximum aggregate quantity limit of 500 grams (1.1 pounds) for solids.

Q3. You ask if the limited quantity limit in § 173.151 applies only to Material A or to the combined amount of Material A and Material B when the quantity for a Division 4.1, PG II material is limited to 1 kilogram per inner packaging.

A3. The limited quantity limit of 1 kilogram applies to the net capacity of the inner packaging and not the amount of Material A or the combined amount of Material A and Material B.  Therefore, in this instance, the limit would apply to the inner packaging that contains both Material A and Material B.

Q4. You ask if the entry (i.e., the hazardous material description) on a shipping paper must indicate the weight of Material A only or the combined weight of Material A and Material B.

A4. Section 172.202(a)(5) requires indication of the total quantity of hazardous materials covered by the description and the applicable unit of measurement (e.g., kilograms), which applies to Material A only.  However, additional information may be provided after the basic description to communicate that additional non-hazardous material is also in the package.

Q5. You ask if for air shipments the entry on a shipping paper must indicate the total mass of Material A only or the combined mass of Material A and Material B.

A5. Section 172.202(a)(6) requires the total net mass of the hazardous material per package to be indicated on the shipping paper unless a gross mass is indicated in Columns (9A) and (9B) of the § 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table, in which case the total gross mass per package must be indicated.  Material A (UN3089) specifically indicates a net mass in Column (9A) for passenger aircraft and a net mass in Column (9B) for cargo aircraft.  If the package is transported via aircraft, the net mass may not exceed 15 kilograms (33 pounds) on a passenger aircraft or 50 kilograms (110 pounds) on a cargo-only aircraft for a PG II package.  In addition, § 172.202(a)(6)(vii) requires hazardous materials in limited quantities the total net quantity per package to be indicated unless a gross mass is indicated in column 4 of § 173.27 Table 3, in which case the total gross mass per package must be indicated.  Please note, Table 3 allows a maximum authorized net quantity of 5 kg (11 lbs.) for the outer package of a Division 4.1, PG II hazardous material.

Q6. You ask if your product meets the HMR definition for “mixture” even though it contains two distinct and separate components in the same tube (i.e., may test results obtained from a thorough mixing of the two components be used for hazard classification purposes even if the components are layered for shipping purposes).

A6. The HMR defines “mixture” as a material composed of more than one chemical compound or element (see § 171.8).  Based on the information you provided, it is the opinion of this Office that the contents in the tube as prepared for transportation are not considered a mixture since both materials are distinct and separate in the tube.  According to the test report data provided, Material A and Material B were tested as a mixture and determined to no longer meet the definition of a Division 4.1 material.  However, the product was not tested in the form in which it will be transported in commerce and you cannot use these test results to be excluded from being a Division 4.1 hazardous material.

Please note, if a facility tested both Material A and Material B in the manner in which the tube will be transported in commerce and proved the product is no longer a Division 4.1 material, then your product would not be subject to the HMR.

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

Sincerely,

Dirk Der Kinderen
Chief, Standards Development Branch
Standards and Rulemaking Division

173.4, 173.151, 172.202(a)(5), 172.202(a)(6), 172.101, 172.202(a)(6)(vii), 173.27, 171.8

Regulation Sections