20462 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 79 / Wednesday, April 25, 2007 / Proposed Rules 

(5) The regulations in this section 

shall be enforced by the Commanding 

Officer, Marine Corps Air Station Cherry 

Point, North Carolina, and/or persons or 

agencies as he/she may designate. 

Lawrence A. Lang, 

Acting Chief, Operations Directorate of Civil 

Works. 

[FR Doc. E7–7901 Filed 4–24–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3710–92–P 

POSTAL SERVICE 

39 CFR Part 111 

Revised Standards for Mailing Sharps 

Waste and Other Regulated Medical 

Waste 

AGENCY: Postal Service. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Postal ServiceTM is 

proposing to revise the mailing 

standards for medical waste so that 

medical professionals can more easily 

use the mail to ship waste to disposal 

sites. For over 15 years we have safely 

permitted approved vendors to use the 

mail for return of sharps and other 

regulated medical waste for disposal. 

Under our current standards, mailback medical waste containers are most 

often used by individuals who selfinject medications to control diseases 

such as diabetes and arthritis. By 

increasing the maximum allowable 

weight of medical waste mail-back 

containers and at the same time 

requiring additional packaging 

safeguards, we intend to provide small 

medical offices the option of using the 

mail for sending medical waste for 

disposal. This proposal would allow 

medical professionals a safe, easy, and 

cost-effective means of disposing of 

sharps and other regulated medical 

waste. 

DATES: We must receive your comments 

on or before May 25, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Mail or deliver written 

comments to the Manager, Mailing 

Standards, Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant 

Plaza SW., Room 3436, Washington, DC 

20260–3436. You may inspect and 

photocopy all written comments at the 

Postal Service Headquarters Library, 475 

L’Enfant Plaza SW., 11th Floor N, 

Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 4 

p.m., Monday through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bert 

Olsen, 202–268–7276. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposal would increase the use of the 

mail for shipping medical waste while 

improving packaging requirements so 

that these items continue to be safe 

while transported in the mail. Currently, 

mailing standards require that primary 

sharps receptacles not exceed 3 gallons 

and that primary receptacles for other 

regulated medical waste not exceed 5 

gallons. This proposal would allow for 

a single larger primary receptacle that 

could accommodate several pre-primary 

sharps receptacles (sharps receptacles 

normally used in doctors’ offices) as 

well as several tie-closed bags of other 

regulated medical waste. This change 

would add additional receptacles (preprimary) to the currently required triplepackaging system and therefore would 

increase protection of the contents. 

The pre-primary receptacles may be 

different in size and design. The 

primary receptacle that holds the preprimary receptacles and the bags of 

other regulated medical waste must be 

capable of passing all current package 

tests. The new standards would set the 

total mailpiece weight limit to 35 

pounds for packages approved as 

‘‘Medical Professional Packaging.’’ All 

other medical waste mailpieces would 

be required to conform to the current 

25-pound weight limit. 

Although we are exempt from the 

notice and comment requirements of the 

Administrative Procedure Act [5 U.S.C. 

of 553(b), (c)] regarding proposed 

rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), we 

invite public comment on the following 

proposed revisions to Mailing Standards 

of the United States Postal Service, 

Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), 

incorporated by reference in the Code of 

Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR 111.1. 

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Postal Service. 

Accordingly, 39 CFR part 111 is 

proposed to be amended as follows: 

PART 111—[AMENDED] 

1. The authority citation for 39 CFR 

part 111 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 

401, 403, 404, 414, 416, 3001–3011, 3201–

3219, 3403–3406, 3621, 3626, 5001; chapter 

36 of Title 39: Pub. L. No 109–435, 120 Stat. 

3198 (2006). 

2. Revise the following sections of the 

Mailing Standards of the United States 

Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 

(DMM), as follows: 

* * * * * 

600 Basic Standards for All Mailing 

Services 

601 Mailability 

* * * * * 

10.0 Hazardous Materials 

* * * * * 

10.17 Infectious Substances (Hazard 

Class 6, Division 6.2) 

* * * * * 

10.17.6 Sharps Waste and Other 

Mailable Regulated Medical Waste 

* * * * * 

[Add a new second sentence to item 

b5 as follows:] 

* * * Except for Medical Professional 

Packages as identified in 10.17.6c, 

which may not weigh more than 35 

pounds.* * * 

* * * * * 

[Renumber items 6c through 6f as new 

6d through 6g. Add new item 6c as 

follows:] 

c. Medical Professional Packaging. 

One primary receptacle larger than 5 

gallons in volume may be used for 

mailing pre-primary sharps receptacles 

(sharps receptacles normally used in 

doctors’ offices) and other regulated 

medical waste under the following 

conditions: 

1. The mailpiece must meet all the 

requirements in 10.17.6, except for the 

primary receptacle capacity limits in 

10.17.6b1. 

2. Only rigid, securely closed, 

puncture- and leak-resistant pre-primary 

sharps receptacles that meet or exceed 

Occupational Safety and Health 

Administration standards may be placed 

inside the primary receptacle. Each preprimary sharps container may contain 

no more than 50 ml (1.66 ounces) of 

residual waste liquid. Several preprimary sharps receptacles may be 

enclosed in the single primary 

receptacle. 

3. Multiple tie-closed plastic bags of 

regulated medical waste may be placed 

inside the single primary receptacle. 

4. The primary receptacle must be 

lined with a plastic bag at least 4 mil in 

thickness and include sufficient 

absorbent material within the liner to 

absorb all residual liquid in the primary 

receptacle. 

5. The mailpiece must not weigh more 

than 35 pounds. 

* * * * * 

[Renumber items d1 through d7 as 

new d2 through d8. Add new number d1 

as follows:] 

1. For Medical Professional Packages, 

the additional marking, ‘‘Medical 

Professional Packaging,’’ must be clearly 

printed in lettering at least 2 inches high 

on the address side of the outer 

shipping container. 

* * * * * 

[Add two new sentences to the 

introductory text renumbered item f as 

follows:] 

f. Testing Criteria. Packages tested for 

approval as Medical Professional 


cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with PROPOSALS
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 79 / Wednesday, April 25, 2007 / Proposed Rules 20463 

Packaging containers may not be tested 

using pre-primary containers that are 

currently or have previously been 

approved as USPS primary containers. 

In addition, test reports must identify by 

brand name the pre-primary containers 

that were used during testing.* * * 

* * * * * 

We will publish an appropriate 

amendment to 39 CFR part 111 to reflect 

these changes if our proposal is 

adopted. 

Neva R. Watson, 

Attorney, Legislative. 

[FR Doc. E7–7816 Filed 4–24–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–12–P 

POSTAL SERVICE 

39 CFR Part 111 

Revised Standards for Mailing Lithium 

Batteries 

AGENCY: Postal Service. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Postal Service is 

proposing to revise our mailing 

standards for lithium batteries. 

Currently, our standards limit customers 

and battery manufacturers from using 

the mail to send consumer-type lithium 

batteries, and prohibit the mailing of 

devices powered by lithium batteries 

when the batteries are in the device. 

These standards are excessively 

restrictive because they obstruct the 

mailing of commonly used consumertype batteries that are permitted to be 

transported by air under Department of 

Transportation (DOT) and International 

Air Transportation Association (IATA) 

regulations. In addition, under our 

current standards, it is difficult to 

determine which lithium batteries meet 

mailing standards and which do not. 

Therefore, by identifying all small 

consumer-type lithium batteries as 

mailable when properly labeled and 

packaged, this proposal would increase 

the safety of the mail. Our proposed 

standards are based on, yet more 

restrictive than, DOT shipping 

regulations for lithium batteries. 

DATES: We must receive your comments 

on or before May 25, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Mail or deliver written 

comments to the Manager, Mailing 

Standards, Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant 

Plaza, SW., Room 3436, Washington, DC 

20260–3436. You may inspect and 

photocopy all written comments at 

Postal Service Headquarters Library, 475 

L’Enfant Plaza, SW., 11th Floor N, 

Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 4 

p.m., Monday through Friday. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bert 

Olsen, 202–268–7276. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Current 

mailing standards are inconsistent with 

Department of Transportation (DOT) 

regulations and prohibit most lithium 

batteries from being mailed via air 

transportation services—Express Mail, 

First-Class Mail, or Priority Mail—even 

though commercial air carriers currently 

carry these items under DOT 

regulations. This proposal would allow 

the Postal Service to accept lithium 

batteries and battery-powered devices 

for mailing in a manner similar to that 

of other commercial shippers. 

Commercial shippers follow DOT and 

International Air Transportation 

Association (IATA) regulations, which 

generally allow lithium batteries 

containing up to 8 grams of equivalent 

lithium content, while we accept only 

batteries having no more than 0.5 grams 

of equivalent lithium content. Many 

small consumer-type batteries contain 

more than 0.5 grams of equivalent 

lithium content. 

In addition, our standards prohibit 

acceptance of devices that have the 

batteries installed in them, while DOT 

and IATA regulations permit shipment 

of electronic devices when small 

consumer-type batteries are installed. 

DOT regulations suggest that the device 

itself offers protection of the batteries, 

and batteries contained in equipment 

are less likely to externally short-circuit. 

Consumer devices such as personal 

digital assistants, cameras, flashlights, 

laptop computers, cell phones, 

handheld electronic games, and portable 

media players such as iPods and MP3 

players contain lithium batteries. Many 

popular consumer products now 

contain lithium batteries, and some 

batteries cannot be easily removed from 

the device they power, and some 

batteries easily exceed our allowable 

equivalent lithium content requirement. 

Therefore, we propose to adopt mailing 

standards that are in line with industry 

standards and that are more easily 

understood and complied with by 

mailers. 

Our proposed revision is more 

restrictive than the shipping regulations 

required by DOT and IATA in the 

following ways: 

• We would impose a 5-pound weight 

limit on mailpieces containing primary 

lithium batteries. 

• We would impose a 10-pound 

weight limit on mailpieces containing 

secondary lithium batteries and a limit 

of no more than 3 batteries per 

mailpiece. 

• We would require all primary and 

secondary lithium batteries to be of the 

type proven (by testing) to be 

nondangerous in accordance with UN 

Manual of Tests and Criteria. 

• We would require all mailpieces 

containing lithium batteries to be 

marked on the outside to identify the 

contents. 

Our proposal mirrors DOT and IATA 

allowable gram quantity limits for small 

consumer-type lithium batteries. 

Devices containing batteries must be 

packaged in such a way as to prevent 

activation while they are in the 

mailstream. Lithium batteries other than 

small consumer-type batteries remain 

nonmailable. 

Although we are exempt from the 

notice and comment requirements of the 

Administrative Procedure Act [5 U.S.C. 

of 553(b), (c)] regarding proposed 

rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), we 

invite public comment on the following 

proposed revisions to Mailing Standards 

of the United States Postal Service, 

Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), 

incorporated by reference in the Code of 

Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR 111.1. 

We provide the proposed mailing 

standards below. We propose to 

implement these standards on June 1, 

2007. 

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Postal Service. 

Accordingly, 39 CFR part 111 is 

proposed to be amended as follows: 

PART 111—[AMENDED] 

1. The authority citation for 39 CFR 

part 111 continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 

401, 403, 404, 414, 416, 3001–3011, 3201–

3219, 3403–3406, 3621, 3626, 5001. 

2. Revise the following sections of the 

Mailing Standards of the United States 

Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 

(DMM), as follows: 

600 Basic Standards for All Mailing 

Services 

601 Mailability 

* * * * * 

601.10 Hazardous Materials 

* * * * * 

10.20 Miscellaneous Hazardous 

Materials (Hazard Class 9) 

* * * * * 

[Add new 10.20.5 to read as follows:] 

10.20.5 Primary Lithium (NonRechargeable) Cells and Batteries 

Small consumer-type primary lithium 

cells or batteries (lithium metal or 

lithium alloy) like those used to power 

cameras and flashlights are mailable 


cprice-sewell on PRODPC61 with PROPOSALS