Interpretation Response #19-0063
Below is the interpretation response detail and a list of regulations sections applicable to this response.
Interpretation Response Details
Response Publish Date:
Company Name: N/A
Individual Name: Nick Spatter
Location State: TX Country: US
View the Interpretation Document
Response text:
March 25, 2020
Nick Spatter
3040 F.M.
1960 E. Suite 110 PMB 305
Houston, TX 77073
Reference No. 19-0063
Dear Mr. Spatter:
This letter is in response to your May 13, 2019 email and subsequent phone conversations requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to the classification of a "Christmas Cracker" containing 0.6 mg of silver fulminate.
You ask whether your device ("Christmas Cracker") can be shipped as a novelty under the exceptions permitted for snappers, or as unregulated based on the 1999 approval (EX 1999090040, TN 1032009802) issued by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (formally known as the Research and Special Programs Administration, RSPA), which identified the devices as "Not Regulated as an Explosive."
The answer to your question is yes. Given the description of the device provided and the documentation from RSPA's 1999 approval, your device does not meet the definition of an explosive when packaged in its retail packaging. Additionally, for informational purposes only, snapper novelty devices that contain up to 1 mg of silver fulminate are considered novelties and are not regulated as an explosive (see March 19, 2015 "Guidance and Criteria for Fireworks Novelty Devices") when transported by highway, rail, and vessel, but are regulated as a flammable solid, inorganic, n.o.s. (UN 3178) when transported by aircraft. Since it was determined that your device does not meet the definition of an explosive, it is not a novelty.
I hope this information is helpful. Please contact us if we can be of further assistance.
Sincerely,
Shane Kelley
Director, Standards and Rulemaking Division
Office of Hazardous Material Safety