Interpretation Response #19-0038
Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.
Interpretation Response Details
Response Publish Date:
Company Name: The Chemours Company
Individual Name: Randolph Martin
Location State: DE Country: US
View the Interpretation Document
Response text:
September 3, 2019
Randolph Martin
Sr. Consultant, Hazardous Materials Distribution
The Chemours Company
1007 Market Street
Room 518-3
Wilmington, DE 19899
Reference No. 19-0038
Dear Mr. Martin:
This letter is in response to your March 28, 2019, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the definition of Division 2.2 (non-flammable gas) and what constitutes an empty packaging of a Division 2.2 material. Specifically, you state your company has several products classified as Division 2.2 which are occasionally in packagings that are unloaded from a transport vehicle and have a gauge pressure reading less than 200 kPa (29.0 psig) at 20 °C (68 °F).
We have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows:
Q1. You ask whether your understanding of the definition of Division 2.2 is correct in that there appears to be three criteria, which must all be met, to qualify as Division 2.2. You state the criteria are:
(1) The gas exerts in the package a gauge pressure of 200 kPa (29 psig/43.8 psia) at 20 °C (68 °F).
(2) The material is a liquified gas or a cryogenic liquid.
(3) The material does not meet the definition of Division 2.1 (flammable gas) or 2.3 (gas poisonous by inhalation).
A1. The answer is no, your understanding is not correct. In accordance with § 173.115(b)(1) and (2), a gas is classified as Division 2.2 if it exerts in the packaging a gauge pressure of 200 kPa (29.0 psig) or greater at 20 °C (68 °F) and it does not meet the definition of Division 2.1 or 2.3; or the material is a liquified gas or cryogenic liquid, and it does not meet the definition of Division 2.1 or 2.3. The first two criteria in your list are not required to be met together, but in either of those two instances, the material must not meet the definition of Division 2.1 or 2.3.
Q2. You ask whether § 173.29(b)(2)(iv)(B) states that the residue of a Division 2.2 non-flammable gas at a gauge pressure of less than 200 kPa (29 psig/43.9 psia) at 20 °C (68 °F) is not subject to any other requirements and is not a hazardous material.
A2. Your understanding is correct. The packaging in your scenario would be considered empty in accordance with § 173.29(b)(2)(iv)(B), and would not be subject to any other 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
Standards and Rulemaking Division
173.115(b)(1) and (2), 173.29(b)(2)(iv)(B)