Content Pages for Current Issue:

Volume 18, Number 5 March/April 2008

DOT-Approved United Nations Third-Party Packaging Certification Agencies

COMPLIANCE DATES AND RULEMAKING ACTIVITY

Summary of U.S. D.O.T. Rule & Rulemaking Activity

PENALTY VIOLATIONS U.S. DOT
PHMSA CLOSED PENALTY CASES

U.S. DOT INTERPRETATIONS OF THE HMR

U.S. DOT Letters of Interpretation of the Hazardous Materials Regulations: January and February 2008

Letters sorted, indexed and provided verbatim.

HAZMAT-TIPS

FINAL RULES

DOT Adopts Miscellaneous Amendments to the HMR in HM-218D   
Andy Altemos, Senior Technical Advisor

DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a final rule entitled “Hazardous Material: Miscellaneous Amendments” in the Federal Register on January 28, 2008 under Docket No. HM-218D. In this report Mr. Altemos discusses the amendments which include a new shipping name and identification number for ethanol/gasoline fuel mixtures,  changes and corrections to various other entries in the Hazardous Materials Table and the associated special provisions, updating of certain matter incorporated by reference, addition of a new definition for “household wastes”, revision and clarification of certain hazard communication requirements, clarification of the requirements applicable to the transportation of dry ice, and expanded exceptions for very small quantities of materials (such as may be used in pharmaceutical research).   

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     DANGEROUS GOODS BY AIR

HazMat Q & A
Amendment of § 173.4 - Small quantity exceptions
Frits Wybenga, Senior Technical Advisor

In this report Mr. Wybenga addresses the matter of small quantity exceptions that have been amended by the addition of a subparagraph §173.4(a)(11)(i).  It limits small quantity excepted packages permitted to be transported by air to materials authorized to be transported by passenger aircraft.  With no shipping document hazmat description required for these small quantities of material and no package marking identifying the material inside, how can the airlines know whether the package is suitable for air transport?  

HAZMAT ENFORCEMENT

PHMSA’s New Enforcement Plan    
By Robert Bunn, DGSA

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced, in March, a new approach to enforcing the hazardous materials regulations.  It is called the Systems Integrity Safety Program (SISP). In this report Mr. Bunn gives an overview of the program, the criteria specified in the memorandum to qualify for entry, and a synopsis of the System Integrity Safety Program.

INTERMEDIATE BULK CONTAINERS

Cross Bottling Composite IBCs intended for Hazardous Materials    
Susan Hauge Project Manager, TEN-E Packaging Services, Inc.

In the Intermediate Bulk Container (IBC) industry, the practice of cross bottling or re-bottling composite IBCs with rigid plastics inner receptacles purchased from manufacturers other than the original supplier of the receptacle or the outer cage is becoming quite common during the reprocessing of these containers. This practice raises questions and concerns that are currently being reviewed by industry and international and domestic regulatory experts alike.  In this report Ms. Hauge looks at the problem of marking these receptacles, packaging integrity, and vibration testing.

HAZMAT SECURITY

An Update on TSA Progress in Establishing a List of Security Sensitive Materials    
Frits Wybenga, Senior Technical Advisor

As previously discussed in the January/February 2007 edition of HAZMAT Packager and Shipper, both the Transportation Security Administration and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration have been considering what substances to regulate for security purposes.  Industry has been keen on PHMSA paring down its list of substances requiring the preparation of a security plan.  Recently, TSA officials indicated that they have completed work on a list of Highway Security Sensitive Materials (HSSM) that is included in a regulatory proposal working its way through the clearance process at the Department of Homeland Security. In this report Mr. Wybenga discusses Security Action Items, and the HSSM list compared to other Hazmat security lists.

PACKAGING

Chemical Compatibility of Plastics Packagings
Earl V. Lind

This article covers chemical compatibility of plastics packagings manufactured from polyethylene.  Due to recent interest in compatibility, especially the possibility of permeation through plastics packagings creating a potentially hazardous situation, Mr. Lind discusses the UN, the U.S. DOT, ADR/RID, and concludes that compatibility of plastics packagings and IBCs is an important factor to consider in safe storage and transportation of hazardous liquids and that permeation is an important part of the selection process.

REGULATORY JURISDICTION

The Preemption Argument against State Licensure Fees and Requirements in the Hazardous Materials Context         
Glenn Wicks. Esq. and Lindsay McGuire Esq., The Wicks Group

Transporters of hazardous materials are accustomed to dealing with bureaucracy and red tape on both the state and federal level.  But while this is a field that warrants regulation, too much regulation can impede the necessary transportation of such materials.  In this report Mr. Wicks and Ms. McGuire examine the  Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (“Act”), and how states are specifically prohibited from enacting a law or regulation that affects the price, route, or service of a motor carrier.

Substantive Comments on the U.S. DOT’s Proposed Recommended Practices for Bulk Loading and Unloading of Hazardous Materials in Transportation
Danielle Jones

When the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) adopted HM-223, it indicated that it did not fully “own” loading and unloading bulk hazardous materials from a jurisdictional perspective. HAZMAT Packager & Shipper has been covering this issue, and reported on the public workshops that PHMSA held. Recently PHMSA published a public notice in the Federal Register requesting public comments on the adoption of bulk loading and unloading practices. Several organizations and a number of companies submitted comments. Ms. Jones summarizes these comments.

COMMENTS ON DOT INTERPRETATIONS

HAZMAT Packager & Shipper’s Comments on Significant Letters of Interpretation of the HMR

By Andy Altemos, Senior Technical Adviser

Mr. Altemos discusses interpretations recently issued by the U.S. DOT, including:

-Classification of a Liquid Hazardous Material That is in a Pressure Receptacle and Charged With a Compressed Gas. Sections 173.2a and 173.115

-Is the Marking of “Overpack” Required Under the HMR? Section 173.4

-Do the Notification Requirements Described in §178.2(c) of the HMR Apply to DOT Specification Cylinders? Section 178.2

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