. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/TBT/N/USA/707 
12 June 2012  
 (12-3097) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member:  UNITED STATES  
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:  Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT) (724) 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :    
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Transport of dangerous 
goods (ICS 03.220, 13.300) 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Hazardous Materials: 
Harmonization with the United Nations Recomm endations on the Transport of Dangerous 
Goods: Model Regulations, International Ma ritime Dangerous Goods Code, and the 
International Civil Aviation Organization Techni cal Instructions for the Safe Transport of 
Dangerous Goods by Air (16 pages, in English).    
6. Description of content:  This document responds to admi nistrative appeal s and solicits 
public comment on proposals generated as a resu lt of certain amendments adopted in an 
international harmonization final rule publishe d in the Federal Register. The final rule 
amended the Hazardous Materials Regulations  (HMR) by revising, removing or adding 
proper shipping names, the hazard class of a material, packing group assignments, special 
provisions, packaging authorizations, packaging sections, air transport quantity limitations, 
and vessel stowage requirements. The amendmen ts were necessary to align the HMR with 
recent revisions to internationa l standards for the transport of  hazardous materials by all 
modes. In this notice, PHMSA proposes to amend the HMR as a re sult of administrative 
appeals submitted in response to various amen dments adopted in the 19 January 2011 final 
rule. This document also addresses recent ac tions taken by the International Civil Aviation  
Organization's (ICAO) Dangerous Goods Panel (DGP) regarding certain lithium ion battery-
powered mobility aids (e.g., wheelchairs, trav el scooters) offered by passengers for air 
transport. Further, this notice proposes am endments to the HMR as a result of two 
administrative appeals submitted by an appellant in response to a final rule published in the 
Federal Register, that revised shipper responsibili ties related to packaging design variation, 
manufacturer notification, and recordkeeping requirements for certai n packaging types. G/TBT/N/USA/707 
Page 2  
 
  7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Protection of the environment and human life.  
8. Relevant documents:   77 Federal Register (FR) 31274, 25 May 2012; Title 49 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) Parts 171, 172, 173,  175, 176 and 178. Will appear in the Federal 
Register when adopted.   
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:   } To be determined 
10. Final date for comments:  24 July 2012 
11. Text available from:  National enquiry point [X], or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addres ses, if available of the other body:    
Internet URL's: 
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/ FR-2012-05-25/html/2012-12523.htm  
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2012-05-25/pdf/2012-12523.pdf