§178.273. Approval of Specification UN portable tanks. — Inbound Citations

IBC means an intermediate bulk container as defined in 49 CFR 171.8.

(f) Prior to inspecting portable tanks or multi-element gas containers (MEGCs) for certification of compliance with the requirements of §§ 178.273 and 178.74 of this chapter, respectively, a person must submit an application to, and be approved by, the Associate Administrator to act as a certification agency. In addition to paragraph (b) of this section, the application must provide the following information:

(1) The name and address of each facility where the portable tank or MEGC, as applicable, is examined and tested;

(2) A detailed description of the applicant's qualifications and ability to examine and test portable tanks or MEGCs, as applicable, and certify that the requirements specified by § 178.273 of this chapter for the approval of UN portable tanks, or § 178.74 of this chapter for the approval of MEGCs have been met; and

(3) A statement indicating that the agency is independent of and not owned by a portable tank or MEGC manufacturer, owner, or distributor.

(2) A DOT Specification 51, IM 101, or IM 102 portable tank may not be manufactured after January 1, 2003; however, such tanks may continue to be used for the transportation of a hazardous material provided they meet the requirements of this subchapter, including the specification requirements and the requirements of this subchapter for the transportation of the particular hazardous material according to the T codes in effect on September 30, 2001 or the new T codes in § 172.102(c)(7)(i), and provided the portable tanks conform to the periodic inspection and tests specified for the particular portable tank in subpart G of part 180 of this subchapter. After January 1, 2003, all newly manufactured portable tanks must conform to the requirements for the design, construction and approval of UN portable tanks as specified in §§ 178.273, 178.274, 178.275, 178.276, 178.277 and part 180, subpart G, of this subchapter.

(1) Each UN portable tank must meet the requirements of this section. In addition to the requirements of this section, requirements specific to UN portable tanks used for liquid and solid hazardous materials, non-refrigerated liquefied gases and refrigerated liquefied gases are provided in §§ 178.275, 178.276 and 178.277, respectively. Requirements for approval, maintenance, inspection, testing and use are provided in § 178.273 and part 180, subpart G, of this subchapter. Any portable tank which meets the definition of a “container” within the terms of the International Convention for Safe Containers (CSC) must meet the requirements of the CSC as amended and 49 CFR parts 450 through 453 and must have a CSC safety approval plate.

(j) Approval procedures for UN portable tanks are specified in § 178.273. Inspection and testing requirements are specified in § 180.605 of this subchapter.

(3) Welding procedure and welder performance tests must be made annually in accordance with Section IX of the ASME Code (IBR, see § 171.7 of this subchapter). In addition to the essential variables named in the ASME Code, the following must be considered as essential variables: number of passes, thickness of plate, heat input per pass, and the specified rod and flux. The number of passes, thickness of plate and heat input per pass may not vary more than 25% from the procedure qualification. Records of the qualification must be retained for at least 5 years by the portable tank manufacturer and made available to the approval agency and the owner of the portable tank as specified in § 178.273.

(c) DOT 51 portable tanks and UN portable tanks that meet the requirements of this subchapter, when a T code is specified in Column (7) of the § 172.101 Table of this subchapter for the specific hazardous material, are authorized. Additionally, a DOT 51 or UN portable tank used for Division 6.1 liquids, Hazard Zone A or B, must be certified and stamped to the ASME Code as specified in § 178.273(b)(6) of this subchapter.