§173.57. Acceptance criteria for new explosives. — Inbound Citations

(k) Explosives not meeting the acceptance criteria specified in § 173.57 of this subchapter.

(1) Except for an explosive made by or under the direction or supervision of the Department of Defense (DOD) or the Department of Energy (DOE), a new explosive must be examined and assigned a recommended shipping description, division and compatibility group, based on the tests and criteria prescribed in §§ 173.52, 173.57 and 173.58. The person requesting approval of the new explosive must submit to the Associate Administrator a report of the examination and assignment of a recommended shipping description, division, and compatibility group. If the Associate Administrator finds the approval request meets the regulatory criteria, the new explosive will be approved in writing and assigned an EX number. The examination must be performed by a person who is approved by the Associate Administrator under the provisions of subpart H of part 107 of this chapter and who—

(i) Has (directly, or through an employee involved in the examination) at least ten years of experience in the examination, testing and evaluation of explosives;

(ii) Does not manufacture or market explosives, and is not controlled by or financially dependent on any entity that manufactures or markets explosives, and whose work with respect to explosives is limited to examination, testing and evaluation; and

(a) In addition to the test prescribed in § 173.57 of this subchapter, a substance or article in these divisions must be subjected to Test Methods 6(a), 6(b), and 6(c), as described in the UN Manual of Tests and Criteria (IBR, see § 171.7 of this subchapter), for assignment to an appropriate division. The criteria for assignment of class and division are as follows:

(1) Division 1.1 if the major hazard is mass explosion;

(2) Division 1.2 if the major hazard is dangerous projections;

(3) Division 1.3 if the major hazard is radiant heat or violent burning, or both, but there is no blast or projection hazard;

(4) Division 1.4 if there is a small hazard with no mass explosion and no projection of fragments of appreciable size or range;

(5) Division 1.4 Compatibility Group S (1.4S) if the hazardous effects are confined within the package or the blast and projection effects do not significantly hinder emergency response efforts. The UN Test Type 6(d) is used to determine whether a Division 1.4S classification is appropriate for an item assigned a proper shipping name to which special provision 347 (see § 172.102 of this subchapter) applies; or

(6) Not in the explosive class if the substance or article does not have significant explosive hazard or if the effects of explosion are completely confined within the article.

(b) Except for ANFO, a substance that has been examined in accordance with the provisions § 173.57(a) of this subchapter, must be subjected to the following additional tests: Cap Sensitivity Test, Princess Incendiary Spark Test, DDT Test, and External Fire Test, each as described in the Explosive Test Manual. A material may not be classed as a Division 1.5 explosive if any of the following occurs:

(1) Detonation occurs in the Cap Sensitivity Test (Test Method 5(a));

(2) Detonation occurs in the DDT Test (Test Method 5(b)(ii));

(3) An explosion, evidenced by a loud noise and projection of fragments, occurs in the External Fire Test (Test Method 5(c), or