[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 134 (Friday, July 12, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41853-41856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-16672]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
49 CFR Chapter I
[Notice No. 13-6]
Safety Advisory Guidance: Heating Rail Tank Cars To Prepare
Hazardous Material for Unloading or Transloading
AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA),
DOT.
ACTION: Safety advisory guidance.
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SUMMARY: This guidance provides safety precautions and recommended
guidance for persons responsible for unloading or transloading \1\
hazardous materials from rail tank cars, specifically those persons
heating a rail tank car to prepare its hazardous material contents for
unloading or transloading. Further, this guidance reminds such persons
of current regulatory requirements addressing this type of operation.
PHMSA is issuing this guidance in coordination with the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA), and in consultation with the Federal Railroad
Administration (FRA).
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\1\ As defined in Sec. 171.8, Transloading means the transfer
of a hazardous material by any person from one bulk packaging to
another bulk packaging, from a bulk packaging to a non-bulk
packaging, or from a non-bulk packaging to a bulk packaging for the
purpose of continuing the movement of the hazardous material in
commerce.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl West Freeman, Division of
Engineering and Research, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, 202-366-4545. For further information regarding OSHA
regulations, contact OSHA, Office of Communications at 202-693-1999 and
for further information regarding EPA's Risk Management Plan, go to:
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www.epa.gov/emergencies/rmp.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
II. PHMSA's Coordinated Response With OSHA and EPA
III. Federal Regulations
A. Applicable PHMSA Regulations
B. Applicable OSHA Regulations or Standards
C. Applicable EPA Regulations
IV. Guidance for Heating of Rail Tank Cars for Unloading or
Transloading
I. Background
PHMSA's mission is to protect people and the environment from the
risks of hazardous materials transportation, including those loading
and unloading operations covered under PHMSA regulations. Our efforts
to enhance the safety of hazardous materials loading and unloading
operations include development of standards for bulk loading and
unloading of hazardous materials as part of our current strategic plan.
Towards this end, on May 24, 1999, the Research and Special Programs
Administration (PHMSA's predecessor agency) published a final rule
[Docket No. RSPA-97-2718 (HM-225A), Hazardous Materials: Revision to
Regulations Governing Transportation and Unloading of Liquefied
Compressed Gases] that revised regulations applicable to the
transportation and unloading of liquefied compressed gases. The
revisions included new inspection, maintenance, and testing
requirements for cargo tank discharge systems, including delivery hose
assemblies, and revised attendance requirements applicable to liquefied
petroleum gas and anhydrous ammonia. Also, more recently, on March 11,
2011, PHMSA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [Docket Number
PHMSA-2007-28119 (HM-247), Hazardous Materials: Cargo Tank Motor
Vehicle Loading and Unloading] that proposes to amend our regulations
to require each person (i.e., carrier or facility) who engages in cargo
tank loading or unloading operations to perform a risk assessment of
the loading and unloading operation and develop and implement safe
operating procedures based upon the results of the risk assessment. We
received comments on the proposals in this NPRM and are currently
evaluating the best course of action to address them.
As part of our continuing efforts to enhance the safety of
hazardous materials loading and unloading operations, our combined
effort with other Federal agencies to protect the public, and in
response to the findings from an NTSB investigation, PHMSA is issuing
this safety advisory guidance to all entities responsible for unloading
or transloading of heated hazardous material from a rail tank car. In
1999 and again in 2002, accidents occurred as a result of the process
of heating rail tank cars for unloading hazardous materials. On
February 18, 1999, a rail tank car, which was on the unloading rack at
the Essroc Cement Corporation
[[Page 41854]]
(Essroc) Logansport cement plant near Clymers, Indiana, sustained a
sudden and catastrophic rupture that propelled the tank of the rail
tank car an estimated 750 feet and over multistory storage tanks. The
20,000-gallon rail tank car initially contained about 161,700 pounds
(14,185 gallons) of a toxic and flammable hazardous waste that was used
as a fuel for the plant's kilns. There were no injuries or fatalities.
Total damages, including property damage and costs from lost
production, were estimated at nearly $8.2 million. The National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause
of the accident was the failure of Essroc to develop and implement safe
procedures for heating rail tank cars for unloading hazardous waste
(i.e., toluene diisocyanate matter wastes). This lack of procedures
resulted in the over-pressurization of the rail tank car due to
chemical self-reaction and expansion of the toluene diisocyanate matter
wastes.
On September 13, 2002, a 24,000-gallon-capacity rail tank car
containing about 6,500 gallons of hazardous waste catastrophically
ruptured at a transfer station at the BASF Corporation chemical
facility in Freeport, Texas. The rail tank car had been steam-heated to
permit the transfer of the waste to a cargo tank motor vehicle for
subsequent disposal. The waste was a combination of cyclohexanone
oxime, cyclohexanone, and water. As a result of the accident, 28 people
received minor injuries. Residents living within one mile of the
accident site had to shelter in place for five and one-half hours. The
rail tank car, cargo tank, and transfer station were destroyed. The
force of the explosion propelled a 300-pound rail tank car dome housing
about \1/3\ mile away from the rail tank car. Two storage tanks near
the transfer station were damaged; that resulted in the released about
660 gallons of the hazardous material oleum.\2\
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\2\ The Federal Railroad Administration has identified three
other incidents involving heating of rail tank cars that did not
result in death or injury.
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The NTSB investigated the Freeport, Texas accident and determined
that the probable cause of the rupture of the rail tank car was over-
pressurization resulting from a runaway exothermic decomposition
reaction initiated by excessive heating of the hazardous waste
material. The NTSB determined that BASF's failure to monitor the
temperature and pressure inside the rail tank car while the hazardous
waste was heated in preparation for unloading contributed to the
accident. As a result of its investigation of the Freeport, Texas
accident, the NTSB recommended that PHMSA, in cooperation with the OSHA
and the EPA, develop regulations that require safe operating procedures
to be established before hazardous materials are heated in a rail tank
car for unloading; at a minimum, the NTSB recommended that the
procedures should include the monitoring of internal tank pressure and
cargo temperature (NTSB Recommendation R-04-10; December 15, 2004).\3\
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\3\ See http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/recletters/2004/R04_10.pdf.
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II. PHMSA's Coordinated Response With OSHA and EPA
PHMSA believes the current regulations provide important
requirements for the safe unloading of heated hazardous material from a
rail tank car. However, we believe it is always beneficial to remind
regulated entities of their duties in affecting safe transportation and
to offer guidance in furtherance of performing these duties, and
therefore, PHMSA, in coordination with OSHA and EPA, and in
consultation with FRA, is issuing this safety advisory guidance. This
safety advisory guidance is supplemental to the regulations and is
provided as information for all entities responsible for unloading or
transloading heated hazardous materials from a rail tank car, including
employees responsible for overseeing the operation, inspecting and
maintaining equipment, establishing emergency shutdown procedures, and
developing safe operating procedures.
Specifically, this safety advisory guidance provides additional
guidance on the recommended safety precautions affected entities should
use when heating a rail tank car to prepare its hazardous material
contents for unloading or transloading. Employing the recommended
guidance summarized in this guidance will enhance safety and diminish
the occurrence of incidents resulting from the over-pressurization and
runaway exothermic decomposition reactions initiated by heating of
hazardous material. We note, however, that there is no binding
regulatory impact of the guidance offered in this guidance.
III. Federal Regulations
A. Applicable PHMSA Regulations
PHMSA's Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180)
specify requirements for the safe transportation of hazardous materials
in commerce by rail car, aircraft, vessel, and motor vehicle.
Requirements in the HMR apply to each person who offers a hazardous
material for transportation in commerce, causes a hazardous material to
be transported in commerce, or transports a hazardous material in
commerce (see 49 CFR 171.1(b) and (c)). Transportation includes the
movement of property and loading, unloading, or storage incidental to
that movement (see 49 CFR 171.8).
In 49 CFR 172.700, PHMSA sets forth training requirements to ensure
a hazmat employee has familiarity with the general provisions of the
HMR, is able to recognize and identify hazardous materials, has
knowledge of specific requirements of the HMR applicable to functions
performed by the employee, and has knowledge of emergency response
information, self-protection measures and accident prevention methods
and procedures. Any hazmat employee (as defined in 49 CFR 171.8),
including the designated employee, must be trained at least once every
three years in accordance with the existing ``function specific''
training requirements in 49 CFR 172.704.
Unloading incidental to movement includes rail tank car
transloading operations, such as the one that resulted in the Freeport,
Texas accident described above (see 49 CFR 171.8). Rail tank car
unloading operations conducted by consignee personnel after the rail
tank car has been delivered to the consignee facility generally are not
regulated under the HMR (see 49 CFR 171.1(d)(2)).
The HMR requirements applicable to rail tank car transloading
operations are in 49 CFR 174.67. The operator of a facility at which
transloading operations are performed must maintain written safety
procedures governing transloading operations and must make the safety
procedures immediately available to the employee responsible for rail
tank car unloading. In addition, persons conducting transloading
operations must take measures to prevent movement of the rail tank car
and secure access to the track where the transloading operation takes
place. During the transloading operation, the rail tank car must be
attended or monitored at all times.
B. Applicable OSHA Regulations or Standards
OSHA's Process Safety Management (PSM) standard (see 29 CFR
1910.119) contains requirements for processes that use, store,
manufacture, handle, or transport highly hazardous chemicals
[[Page 41855]]
on-site.\4\ Bulk \5\ loading and unloading operations involving PSM-
covered chemicals or other processes with PSM-covered chemicals are
subject to the requirements of the PSM standard.\6\ The PSM standard
requires employers to compile process safety information (PSI) to
enable employers and employees to identify and understand the hazards
of the process. The PSI must include: (1) Physical and reactivity data
of the highly hazardous chemicals in the process; (2) safe upper and
lower limits of the process such as temperatures, pressures, flows and
compositions; and (3) an evaluation of the consequences of deviation.
Using the PSI, employers must perform a process hazard analysis to
systematically identify, evaluate, and control the hazards of the
process. After an employer completes a process hazard analysis, the
employer must develop and implement written operating procedures
providing clear, written instructions for safe operations of a process,
such as loading and unloading operations to or from bulk containers
(see 29 CFR 1910.119(f)). After the procedures are developed, each
employee, including a contract employee, who is involved in loading and
unloading operations must be trained in the required processes and the
procedures, in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.119(g).
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\4\ 29 CFR 1910.119(b), defines a highly hazardous chemical as a
substance possessing toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive
properties and specified by paragraph (a)(1) of Sec. 1910.119.
\5\ The use of this term with respect to the PSM standard is not
the same as defined in the PHMSA HMR.
\6\ Both of these processes may be covered by OSHA's PSM
depending on the flash point of the waste material and the other
chemicals present in the process. For operations with hazardous
materials, OSHA recommends implementation of management systems such
as those required by the PSM standard, regardless of coverage.
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The OSHA standards also include requirements for the handling and
storage of specific hazardous materials, including hazardous waste.
Specifically, 29 CFR 1910.106(f) contains provisions for loading and
unloading facilities. Additionally, the OSHA standard at 29 CFR
1910.120, pertaining to hazardous waste operations and emergency
response, establishes requirements for emergency response operations.
When there is a release of hazardous materials, or a substantial threat
of a release, then emergency response operations must comply with 29
CFR 1910.120(q).
In situations where an operation or a material is not covered by
the PSM standard or the other OSHA standards, employers are obligated
under Section 5(a)(1)--``the General Duty Clause''--of the OSH Act of
1970 to protect employees from serious ``recognized'' hazards.
Under OSHA's Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response
(HAZWOPER) standards in 29 CFR 1910.120, an employer must train workers
exposed to hazardous substances, health hazards, or safety hazards
before performing hazardous waste operations and emergency response.
Specifically, 29 CFR 1910.120(e)(3) and (e)(4) detail the level of
training required of workers, who perform cleanup operations or on-site
management and supervisors of workers, and 29 CFR 1910.120(q)(6)
details the level of training required of workers who perform emergency
response.
Section 29 CFR 1910.120(e)(3)(i) specifies the training
requirements for general site workers engaged in activities which
expose or potentially expose those workers to hazardous substances and
health hazards. These workers are required to receive a minimum of 40
hours of instruction off the site, and a minimum of three days actual
field experience under the direct supervision of a trained, experienced
supervisor.
Section 29 CFR 1910.120(e)(3)(ii) specifies the training
requirements for workers on site only occasionally for a specific
limited task, who are unlikely to be exposed to hazardous substances
and health hazards over defined permissible limits. These workers are
required to receive a minimum of 24 hours of instruction off the site,
and a minimum of one day actual field experience under the direct
supervision of a trained, experienced supervisor.
Section 29 CFR 1910.120(e)(3)(iii) specifies training requirements
for workers who are regularly onsite in areas that have been monitored
and fully characterized indicating that exposures are under permissible
exposure limits and published exposure limits where respirators are not
necessary, and the characterization indicates that there are no health
hazards or the possibility of an emergency developing. These workers
are required to receive a minimum of 24 hours of instruction off the
site, and a minimum of one day actual field experience under the direct
supervision of a trained, experienced supervisor. In accordance with 29
CFR 1910.120(e)(3), on-site management and supervisors directly
responsible for, or who supervise employees engaged in the activities
described above must receive 40 hours initial training, and three days
of supervised field experience and at least eight additional hours of
specialized training at the time of job assignment.
For all the levels of workers and their on-site management and
supervisors, the OSHA training requirements described in 29 CFR
1910.120(e) and (q) would need to include training in all aspects of
the heating process if that employee is responsible for performing any
such functions, including refresher training every three years.
C. Applicable EPA Regulations
EPA regulations establish a general duty for facility owners or
operators of facilities that produce, handle, process, distribute, or
store certain chemicals to identify hazards associated with the
accidental releases of extremely hazardous substances, design and
maintain a safe facility as needed to prevent such releases, and
minimize the consequences of releases. In addition, stationary sources
with more than a threshold quantity of a regulated substance in a
process are subject to EPA's accident prevention regulations, including
the requirement to develop a Risk Management Plan (RMP) and submit the
RMP to EPA (see 40 CFR Part 68). EPA's RMP requirements contain
accident prevention measures that are virtually identical to those
within the OSHA PSM standard.
In addition to the accident prevention requirements common to PSM,
under 40 CFR Part 68, regulated facilities must perform a hazard
assessment consisting of worst case and alternative release scenarios
and a five-year accident history, implement an emergency response
program, implement a management system, and develop and submit an RMP
to EPA. Further, 40 CFR Part 112 establishes performance-based training
requirements that would apply to any facility and covered operation,
including facility transfers that handle certain chemicals in the
specific quantities listed in 40 CFR 68.130.
IV. Guidance for Heating of Rail Tank Cars for Unloading or
Transloading
Several Federal agencies share responsibility for the safety
regulations of rail tank car unloading or transloading operations
involving hazardous material--DOT (PHMSA and FRA), OSHA, and EPA.
PHMSA, in coordination with OSHA and EPA, and in consultation with FRA,
is issuing this safety advisory guidance to offer guidance on heating
of a rail tank car to prepare solidified or viscous hazardous material
products contained in the rail tank car for unloading or transloading.
Based on existing regulatory requirements, we have assembled and
coordinated the following guidance to
[[Page 41856]]
raise awareness of those requirements and the risks associated with
heating rail tank cars. This guidance does not include all of the
aspects applicable to the safe heating of rail tanks cars; rather, it
focuses on the issues raised in the NTSB recommendations as a result of
its investigations into the two incidents cited above.
Procedures. The shipper or facility operator, if not the same,
should develop written safe operating procedures to be used when
hazardous materials are heated in a rail tank car for unloading or
transloading. The procedures should, at a minimum, establish hazard
controls necessary to protect workers, the public, and the environment
from adverse consequences, and include:
Detailed information regarding the chemical
characteristics of the material such as, melting temperature, flash
point, the degree to which the hazardous material expands as a result
of heating, and additional risk if the hazardous material reacts with
air or water.;
The pressure created by heating the rail tank car at which
the material may safely be unloaded or transloaded from the rail tank
car;
Active monitoring and recordkeeping requirements of the
internal tank pressure and material temperature during the heating
process. The heating process should be monitored with time intervals
(such as hourly) that are dependent upon the nature and history of
materials being heated;
Potential consequences of deviations from standard
operating procedures and how to identify, control and respond to those
consequences; and
Training of all entities involved in the unloading or
transloading process.
These procedures should be maintained in a location where they are
immediately available to employees responsible for the heating,
unloading or transloading operation. These procedures should clearly
define employees' roles and responsibilities for the heating of a rail
tank car, as well as the roles and responsibilities of contractor
personnel that are employed at a facility to conduct the operations for
heating of a rail tank car.
Monitoring. The facility operator should be knowledgeable of the
chemical properties of all of the materials involved in the heating
process, including the reactivity of those materials, and ensure that
the heating process (i.e., pressure, temperature, and heating rate)
applied to the rail tank car, and the pressure and temperature inside
the rail tank car should be monitored to ensure that it does not result
in over-pressurization of the rail tank car.
Monitoring should be conducted at the necessary frequency as
heating continues until the material reaches its recommended parameters
(e.g., viscosity and temperature) for safe unloading or transloading.
Certain chemicals, such as a material that can undergo rapid exothermic
decomposition, may require more frequent or even continuous monitoring
during heating. Monitoring of the tank pressure and the temperature of
the hazardous material includes measures to ensure that the heating
rate does not result in over pressurization of the rail tank car.
As an additional aspect of monitoring, the facility operator may,
when practical and safe, and the physical state of the material allows,
sample the material that is in the rail tank car to verify the material
and its chemical and physical properties. The rail tank car contents
should be monitored at multiple times as heating continues until the
material is determined to be at its recommended parameters (e.g.,
viscosity and temperature) for safe unloading or transloading.
Designated Employee. The facility operator should designate an
employee responsible for monitoring the heating process. Prior to the
onset of operation, the designated employee should be made thoroughly
knowledgeable of the nature and properties of the material contained in
the rail tank car and procedures to be followed in the event of an
emergency. In the event of an emergency, the designated employee should
have the ability and authority to take responsive action.
Training. Hazardous materials employees involved in heating rail
tank cars for unloading or transloading operations should be trained in
all aspects of the heating process that each employee is responsible
for performing. Further, the level of training for each employee should
correlate with that employee's level of exposure to hazardous materials
at the facility where rail tank cars are heated for unloading or
transloading. Please refer to the Section III for a discussion of
specific training obligations under applicable Federal regulations.
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 8, 2013, under authority
delegated in 49 CFR Part 106.
Magdy El-Sibaie,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.
[FR Doc. 2013-16672 Filed 7-11-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P