Document ID: PHMSA-2019-0130-0001
Agency: phmsa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Hazardous Materials: Unapproved Foreign-Made DOT Cylinders
Posted Date: 2019-11-01T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 212 (Friday, November 1, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58829-58830]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-23878]

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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

[Docket No. PHMSA-2019-0130; Notice No. 2019-07]

Hazardous Materials: Unapproved Foreign-Made DOT Cylinders

AGENCY: Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), 
Department of Transportation (DOT).

ACTION: Safety advisory notice.

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SUMMARY: PHMSA is issuing this safety advisory notice to inform the 
public, industrial gas stakeholders, and relevant government officials 
of the risks associated with requalifying, filling, and transporting 
cylinders bearing the DOT specification markings ``DOT 4E'' or ``DOT 
4BA'' that were produced by a company located in Thailand by the name 
of Metal Mate. Metal Mate does not have an approval from PHMSA to 
manufacture cylinders to DOT specifications; therefore, cylinders 
marked with the Metal Mate name are not DOT specification cylinders. 
They must not be used to transport hazardous materials in commerce to, 
from, or within the United States, or on a United States-registered 
aircraft. These cylinders may not perform to the marked DOT performance 
standard and may not be safe for commercial transportation or consumer 
use.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The Hazardous Materials Information 
Center, (202) 366-4488 or 1-800-467-4922; infocntr@dot.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: PHMSA has become aware that a company 
located in Thailand by the name of Metal Mate has been producing and 
selling propane cylinders that were marked as ``DOT 4E'' without an 
approval from PHMSA. PHMSA is aware of two cylinders found in Australia 
that were marked as ``DOT 4E 240'' with Metal Mate's name marked as the 
manufacturer. Third party testing revealed that the cylinders may not 
meet the DOT 4E standard. Additionally, another cylinder produced by 
Metal Mate and marked as ``DOT 4E'' has been found in Colombia. Metal 
Mate cylinders can be identified by the name ``Metal Mate'' and ``MM'' 
logo stamped into the cylinder collar adjacent to other cylinder 
markings (water capacity, test pressure, serial number, original test 
date).
    PHMSA has also received information that Metal Mate is producing 
cylinders that are being marked as ``DOT 4BA 240.'' Evidence indicates 
that Metal Mate has shipped cylinders as marked to both Bangladesh and 
New Zealand.
    Federal hazardous materials transportation law (49 U.S.C. 5101-
5128) authorizes the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to 
establish regulations to safely transport hazardous materials in 
intrastate, interstate, and foreign commerce. It also authorizes the 
Secretary to apply these regulations to persons who manufacture or 
maintain a packaging or a component of a packaging that is represented, 
marked, certified, or sold as qualified for use in the transportation 
of a hazardous material in commerce (see 49 CFR 171.1). The Secretary 
delegated this authority to PHMSA in 49 CFR 1.97(b). As stated in 49 
CFR 178.2(b), marking a packaging with a DOT specification, e.g., ``DOT 
4E 240,'' means that all requirements of the marked DOT specification 
have been met and each action performed by, or for, the person whose 
name or symbol appears on the cylinder marking meets the requirements 
specified in part 178. These requirements include multiple tests for 
DOT 4BA and DOT 4E cylinders. For DOT 4E cylinders, the specification 
also requires a chemical analysis (see 49 CFR 178.51 for the 
specification requirements for DOT 4BA cylinders, and Sec.  178.68 for 
the

[[Page 58830]]

specification requirements for DOT 4E cylinders).
    Pursuant to 49 CFR 107.807(a), a foreign manufacturer who seeks to 
manufacture DOT specification cylinders must obtain an approval from 
PHMSA that permits that manufacturer to perform the required chemical 
analyses and tests outside the United States. Metal Mate does not 
possess any such approval from PHMSA, and is therefore not authorized 
to mark cylinders that it manufactures as complying with DOT 
specifications. Any cylinder produced by Metal Mate marked as meeting a 
DOT specification is not approved, is not a DOT specification cylinder, 
and may not meet DOT performance standards.
    The PHMSA approval process \1\ involves the careful review and 
onsite inspection of the applicant company's product documentation, 
cylinder manufacturing process, employee training records, and the 
presence and effectiveness of quality control measures at various 
stages during the cylinders' production. Since this review and 
inspection was not performed, DOT has no evidence that these cylinders 
are designed to withstand pressurization during filling and use and to 
safely contain hazardous materials transported in commerce. Improper 
design and manufacturing could potentially lead to a release of 
hazardous materials or failure of the cylinder.
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    \1\ https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/pressure-vessels-approvals/pressure-vessels-overview.
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    Consequently, as a safety measure, PHMSA wants to inform consumers 
that cylinders manufactured by Metal Mate, even if bearing a DOT 
specification marking, must not be used to transport hazardous 
materials in commerce to, from, or within the United States, or on a 
United States-registered aircraft. These cylinders may not perform to 
DOT performance standards, and may not be safe to use as one would use 
a DOT specification cylinder.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on October 28, 2019.
William S. Schoonover,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline and 
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
[FR Doc. 2019-23878 Filed 10-31-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P