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Final Rule to Hazardous Materials Regulations

Final Rule to Hazardous Materials Regulations

Today’s Federal Register (78 FR 15303) included a new final rule from the U.S. DOT titled “Hazardous Materials: Miscellaneous Amendments (RRR).” This final rule adopts amendments to the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR) that were identified through a retrospective review of the HMR, letters of interpretation, and DOT’s internal review.

This is the second rule this month to amend the Hazardous Materials Regulations; on March 7, a final rule was published that made miscellaneous minor amendments to the HMR as a result of petitions from the regulated community. The following highlight some of today’s significant changes to the HMR:

Corrections & Clarifications to HM Table

  • The 49 CFR 172.101 Hazardous Materials Table (HMT) was revised to correct an error in the transportation requirements for entries listed under the Proper Shipping Name, “Hydrazine Dicarbonic Acid Diazide.”
  • The entry for “Zinc ethyl, see Diethylzinc” was removed from the 49 CFR 172.101 HMT
  • The DOT added back the inadvertently omitted entries for “Paint related material, flammable, corrosive (including paint thinning or reducing compound)” UN3469, PG II and PG III.
  • The DOT removed references to Special Provisions B72 and B74 in 49 CFR 172.102.
  • Special Provision 138 in 49 CFR 172.102 was revised to clarify the lead solubility calculation used to classify a material as a Marine Pollutant.

Corrections & Clarifications to Shipping Papers

  • The shipping paper requirements in 49 CFR 172.203(e) were revised to permit the placement of the phrase “Residue last contained” before or after the basic shipping description sequence, or for rail shipments, directly preceding the Proper Shipping Name in the basic shipping description sequence.
  • The DOT now permits designated agents for non-residents to submit designation requests by electronic mail in addition to traditional mail.

Corrections & Clarifications to Packing Instructions

  • The lab pack provisions in 49 CFR 173.12 added clarifications pertaining to temperature-controlled materials contained in a lab pack.
  • The DOT incorporated Special Permit DOT SP-13556 into 49 CFR173.134, to authorize the transportation by motor vehicle of certain regulated medical wastes (sharps) in non-DOT specification containers fitted into wheeled racks.
  • The requirements for cargo air transport of alcoholic beverages in 49 CFR 173.150 were revised to harmonize with the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Technical Instructions (TI).
  • The DOT clarified the exceptions in 49 CFR 173.159a for non-spillable batteries secured to skids or pallets.

Corrections & Clarifications to Other Pre-Transportation Functions

  • 49 CFR 178.2(c) was revised to clarify the applicability of the closure notification requirements for packages containing residues.
  • Regulatory citations in 49 CFR 178.2(c) were corrected.
  • The material of trade exception in 49 CFR 173.6 was revised to clarify that this provision may be used when transporting Division 2.1 and 2.2 gases in Dewar flasks.
  • The training recordkeeping requirements in 49 CFR 172.704 were updated to specify that a hazmat employer must make hazmat employee training records available upon request, at a reasonable time and location, to an authorized official of the Department of Transportation or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

Typographical Error in March 7, 2013 Final Rule

On Thursday, March 7, 2013 (78 FR 14702), the Federal Register published a different final rule making numerous minor changes to the Hazardous Material Regulations.

When amending the Hazardous Material Table at 49 CFR 172.101, for “Powder, smokeless, UN 0509,” the entry for Column 9B was changed to “None” when it should have remained as “Forbidden” and the entries for Columns 10A and 10B were changed when they should have remained as “02” and “25,” respectively. For “Self-reactive solid type B,” the entry for Column 9A was changed to “None” when it should have remained as “Forbidden.” For “Self Reactive Solid Type E,” the UN number was changed to “UN3226” when it should have remained as “UN3228” and the entries for Columns 9A and 9B were changed when they should have remained as “10 kg” and “25 kg,” respectively. The DOT is aware of these errors and is expected to publish a correction in a future Federal Register.

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