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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 #20-0071

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date:

Company Name: Public Utilities Commission of Ohio

Individual Name: Tom Forbes

Location State: OH Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

November 2, 2020

Tom Forbes
Assistant Chief, Motor Carrier & Rail Enforcement Division
Public Utilities Commission of Ohio
180 E. Broad Street Suite 421
Columbus, OH  43215

Reference No. 20-0071

Dear Mr. Forbes:

This letter is in response to your August 28, 2020, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to labeling requirements. Specifically, you describe a roadside inspection of a hazardous materials shipment of drums of "UN1198, Formaldehyde solutions, flammable, 3, 8, PG III." You indicate that while the inspector was unable to visually confirm the presence of labels on the side of the drums, the shipper stated the side of each drum was labeled with the Class 3 flammable liquid label and the subsidiary Class 8 corrosive label. Furthermore, you state that the top of each drum had a Class 3 flammable liquid label, as part of what appeared to be a Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals (GHS) product label. You ask whether the lack of a subsidiary Class 8 corrosive label on the top of the drum is a violation of the labeling requirements of the HMR, if the required labels are elsewhere on the side of the drum.

The answer is no. Voluntary, duplicative labeling on the top of the drum is not prohibited, and the omission of the subsidiary Class 8 corrosive label next to the Class 3 flammable liquid label on the top of the drum is not a violation of the HMR, provided that both labels (primary and subsidiary) are represented on the side of the drum or package and satisfy the labeling requirements of 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

Regulation Sections