Search
Search

PHMSA Proposes to Incorporate Rail Special Permits into the Hazardous Materials Regulations

Posted on 8/19/2011 by James Griffin

Yesterday at 76 FR 51324, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) proposed to amend the Hazardous Material Regulations to incorporate certain widely used and long-standing special permits applicable to rail transport of hazmat.
 
The special permits in question are:
 
  • SP-7616: Telephone and Electronic Data Interchange Shipping Papers for Rail Transport
  • SP-9388: Measuring Liquefied Gases Loaded into a Tank Car With Metering Devices as an Alternative to Measuring These Cars by Weight
  • SP-11184: Alternative Pressure Relief Requirements for Pressure Relief Devices for Tank Cars Containing Certain Flammable Liquid Materials
  • SP-12095: Alternative Tank Car Qualification Program
  • SP-12905: Transportation in Commerce of Certain Tank Cars With Identification Plates in Lieu of Stamping the Tank Car Heads
  • SP-14333: Straight Threads on Multi-Unit Tank Cars
  • SP-14622: Alternative Start-to-Discharge Pressure Requirements for Tank Cars Containing Chlorine
 
PHMSA is also responding to two petitions concerning the use of electronic shipping papers for all modes of transportation (P-1497) and removing references to the Association of American Railroads AAR-600 portable tank program (P-1567).
If SP-7616 is adopted into the regulations, it would permit the use of electronic or telephonic communications in place of printed shipping papers for rail shipments. Petition P-1497 requests that PHMSA consider extending this allowance to all modes of transportation.
As current provisions of the HMR are already more restrictive than the AAR-600 program, Petition P-1567 requests that PHMSA eliminate confusing references to an obsolete consensus standard that could create a lower standard of safety.
 
Comments must be received by PHMSA by October 17, 2011.
 

Tags: DOT, hazmat shipping

Find a Post

Recent Posts

Compliance Topics

Compliance Archives

Lion - Quotes

The course is well thought out and organized in a way that leads to a clearer understanding of the total training.

David Baily

Hazmat Shipping Professional

These are the best classes I attend each year. I always take something away and implement improvements at my sites.

Kim Racine

EH&S Manager

Lion courses are the standard to which all other workshops should strive for!

Brody Saleen

Registered Environmental Health Specialist

Our instructor was very dynamic and kept everyone's interest. Hazmat shipping can be a dry, complicated topic but I was engaged the entire time.

Kimberly Arnao

Senior Director of EH&S

The online course was well thought out and organized, with good interaction between the student and the course.

Larry Ybarra

Material Release Agent

We have a very busy work schedule and using Lion enables us to take the course at our own time. It makes it easy for me to schedule my employees' training.

Timothy Mertes

Hazmat Shipping Professional

Very well structured, comprehensive, and comparable to live training seminars I've participated in previously. I will recommend the online course to other colleagues with training requirement needs.

Neil Luciano

EHS Manager

The instructor took a rather drab set of topics and brought them to life with realistic real-life examples.

Tom Berndt

HSE Coordinator

Excellent. I learned more in two days with Lion than at a 5-day program I took with another provider.

Francisco Gallardo

HES Technician

I chose Lion's online webinar because it is simple, effective, and easily accessible.

Jeremy Bost

Environmental Health & Safety Technician

Download Our Latest Whitepaper

Explore ten hazardous waste management errors that caused generators in California the most trouble last year.

Download
Latest Whitepaper

By submitting your phone number, you agree to receive recurring marketing and training text messages. Consent to receive text messages is not required for any purchases. Text STOP at any time to cancel. Message and data rates may apply. View our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.