Interpretation Response #24-0053

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

Interpretation Response Details

Response Publish Date: 10/09/2024

Company Name: Entegris, Inc.

Individual Name: Stefanie Yarbrough

Location State: TX Country: US

View the Interpretation Document

Response text:

October 9, 2024

Stefanie Yarbrough
Sr Manager, Strategic Initiatives
Entegris, Inc.
700 Jeffrey Way, Suite 400
Round Rock, TX  78664

Reference No. 24-0053

Dear Mrs. Yarbrough:

This letter is in response to your June 6, 2024, email requesting clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) applicable to empty packagings. In your email, you provide a scenario where your company is shipping a hazardous material in 55-gallon drums. The hazardous material contents of the drums are removed to the maximum extent practicable, but the drums are not cleaned, refilled, or purged of any vapors. Specifically, you ask for clarification of the provisions to allow packagings with residue to be shipped as empty packagings, as specified in § 173.29(b).

We have paraphrased and answered your questions as follows:

Q1. You ask whether all the conditions listed in § 173.29(b)(2) have to be met in order to ship the drums as empty packagings.

A1. The answer is no. The conditions of § 173.29(b)(2) are independent of one another, as identified by the conjunction "or" connecting § 173.29(b)(2)(iii) and (iv). Please note that whichever condition in § 173.29(b)(2) applies, it is in combination with the provisions of § 173.29(b)(1) and (3).

Q2. You ask for clarification of the term "unused," as specified in § 173.29(b)(2)(i), and when a packaging would be considered "unused."

A2. The HMR does not define the term "unused" with respect to its use in § 173.29. The word "unused" is defined in a standard dictionary as "has never been used before." In this context, the term "unused," as utilized in § 173.29(b)(2)(i), means the package must have never been filled, offered for transportation, or undergone equivalent actions that would render the packaging as "used."

Q3. You ask whether the drums with residue as described in your email qualify as empty packagings, in accordance with § 173.29.

A3. The answer is no.

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

173.29(b)

Regulation Sections