[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 49, Volume 2]

[Revised as of October 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 49CFR177.834]



[Page 782-785]

 

                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION

 

   CHAPTER I--PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, 

                      DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

 

PART 177_CARRIAGE BY PUBLIC HIGHWAY--Table of Contents

 

                     Subpart B_Loading and Unloading

 

Sec. 177.834  General requirements.



    Note: For prohibited loading and storage of hazardous materials, see 

Sec. 177.848.





    (a) Packages secured in a motor vehicle. Any package containing any 

hazardous material, not permanently attached to a motor vehicle, must be 

secured against shifting, including relative motion between packages, 

within the vehicle on which it is being transported, under conditions 

normally incident to transportation. Packages having valves or other 

fittings must be loaded in a manner to minimize the likelihood of damage 

during transportation.

    (b) Each package containing a hazardous material bearing package 

orientation markings prescribed in Sec. 172.312 of this subchapter must 

be loaded on a transport vehicle or within a freight container in 

accordance with such markings and must remain in the correct position 

indicated by the markings during transportation.

    (c) No smoking while loading or unloading. Smoking on or about any 

motor vehicle while loading or unloading any Class 1 (explosive), Class 

3 (flammable liquid), Class 4 (flammable solid), Class 5 (oxidizing), or 

Division 2.1 (flammable gas) materials is forbidden.

    (d) Keep fire away, loading and unloading. Extreme care shall be 

taken in the loading or unloading of any Class 1 (explosive), Class 3 

(flammable liquid), Class 4 (flammable solid), Class 5 (oxidizing), or 

Division 2.1 (flammable gas) materials into or from any motor vehicle to 

keep fire away and to prevent persons in the vicinity from smoking, 

lighting matches, or carrying any flame or lighted cigar, pipe, or 

cigarette.

    (e) Handbrake set while loading and unloading. No hazardous material 

shall be loaded into or on, or unloaded from, any motor vehicle unless 

the handbrake be securely set and all other reasonable precautions be 

taken to prevent motion of the motor vehicle during such loading or 

unloading process.

    (f) Use of tools, loading and unloading. No tools which are likely 

to damage the effectiveness of the closure of any package or other 

container, or likely adversely to affect such package or container, 

shall be used for the loading or unloading of any Class 1 (explosive) 

material or other dangerous article.

    (g) [Reserved]

    (h) Precautions concerning containers in transit; fueling road 

units. Reasonable care should be taken to prevent undue rise in 

temperature of containers and their contents during transit. There must 

be no tampering with such container or the contents thereof nor any 

discharge of the contents of any container between point of origin and 

point of billed destination. Discharge of contents of any container, 

other than a cargo tank or IM portable tank, must not be made prior to 

removal from the motor vehicle. Nothing contained in this paragraph 

shall be so construed as to prohibit the fueling of machinery or 

vehicles used in road construction or maintenance.

    (i) Attendance requirements. (1) Loading. A cargo tank must be 

attended by a qualified person at all times when it is being loaded. The 

person who is responsible for loading the cargo tank is also responsible 

for ensuring that it is so attended.

    (2) Unloading. A motor carrier who transports hazardous materials by 

a



[[Page 783]]



cargo tank must ensure that the cargo tank is attended by a qualified 

person at all times during unloading. However, the carrier's obligation 

to ensure attendance during unloading ceases when:

    (i) The carrier's obligation for transporting the materials is 

fulfilled;

    (ii) The cargo tank has been placed upon the consignee's premises; 

and

    (iii) The motive power has been removed from the cargo tank and 

removed from the premises.

    (3) Except for unloading operations subject to Sec. Sec. 

177.837(d), 177.840(p), and 177.840(q), a qualified person ``attends'' 

the loading or unloading of a cargo tank if, throughout the process, he 

is alert and is within 7.62 m (25 feet) of the cargo tank. The qualified 

person attending the unloading of a cargo tank must have an unobstructed 

view of the cargo tank and delivery hose to the maximum extent 

practicable during the unloading operation.

    (4) A person is ``qualified'' if he has been made aware of the 

nature of the hazardous material which is to be loaded or unloaded, he 

has been instructed on the procedures to be followed in emergencies, he 

is authorized to move the cargo tank, and he has the means to do so.

    (j) Except for a cargo tank conforming to Sec. 173.29(b)(2) of this 

subchapter, a person may not drive a cargo tank motor vehicle containing 

a hazardous material regardless of quantity unless:

    (1) All manhole closures are closed and secured; and

    (2) All valves and other closures in liquid discharge systems are 

closed and free of leaks.

    (k) [Reserved]

    (l) Use of cargo heaters when transporting certain hazardous 

material. Transportation includes loading, carrying, and unloading.

    (1) When transporting Class 1 (explosive) materials. A motor vehicle 

equipped with a cargo heater of any type may transport Class 1 

(explosive) materials only if the cargo heater is rendered inoperable 

by: (i) Draining or removing the cargo heater fuel tank; and (ii) 

disconnecting the heater's power source.

    (2) When transporting certain flammable material--(i) Use of 

combustion cargo heaters. A motor vehicle equipped with a combustion 

cargo heater may be used to transport Class 3 (flammable liquid) or 

Division 2.1 (flammable gas) materials only if each of the following 

requirements are met:

    (A) It is a catalytic heater.

    (B) The heater's surface temperature cannot exceed 54 [deg]C (130 

[deg]F)--either on a thermostatically controlled heater or on a heater 

without thermostatic control when the outside or ambient temperature is 

16 [deg]C (61 [deg]F) or less.

    (C) The heater is not ignited in a loaded vehicle.

    (D) There is no flame, either on the catalyst or anywhere in the 

heater.

    (E) The manufacturer has certified that the heater meets the 

requirements under paragraph (l)(2)(i) of this section by permanently 

marking the heater ``MEETS DOT REQUIREMENTS FOR CATALYTIC HEATERS USED 

WITH FLAMMABLE LIQUID AND GAS.''

    (F) The heater is also marked ``DO NOT LOAD INTO OR USE IN CARGO 

COMPARTMENTS CONTAINING FLAMMABLE LIQUID OR GAS IF FLAME IS VISIBLE ON 

CATALYST OR IN HEATER.''

    (G) Heater requirements under Sec. 393.77 of this title are 

complied with.

    (ii) Effective date for combustion heater requirements. The 

requirements under paragraph (l)(2)(i) of this section govern as 

follows:

    (A) Use of a heater manufactured after November 14, 1975, is 

governed by every requirement under (l)(2)(i) of this section;

    (B) Use of a heater manufactured before November 15, 1975, is 

governed only by the requirements under (l)(2)(i) (A), (C), (D), (F) and 

(G) of this section until October 1, 1976; and

    (C) Use of any heater after September 30, 1976, is governed by every 

requirement under paragraph (l)(2)(i) of this section.

    (iii) Restrictions on automatic cargo-space-heating temperature 

control devices. Restrictions on these devices have two dimensions: 

Restrictions upon use and restrictions which apply when the device must 

not be used.



[[Page 784]]



    (A) Use restrictions. An automatic cargo-space-heating temperature 

control device may be used when transporting Class 3 (flammable liquid) 

or Division 2.1 (flammable gas) materials only if each of the following 

requirements is met:

    (1) Electrical apparatus in the cargo compartment is nonsparking or 

explosion proof.

    (2) There is no combustion apparatus in the cargo compartment.

    (3) There is no connection for return of air from the cargo 

compartment to the combustion apparatus.

    (4) The heating system will not heat any part of the cargo to more 

than 54 [deg]C (129 [deg]F).

    (5) Heater requirements under Sec. 393.77 of this title are 

complied with.

    (B) Protection against use. Class 3 (flammable liquid) or Division 

2.1 (flammable gas) materials may be transported by a vehicle, which is 

equipped with an automatic cargo-space-heating temperature control 

device that does not meet each requirement of paragraph (l)(2)(iii)(A) 

of this section, only if the device is first rendered inoperable, as 

follows:

    (1) Each cargo heater fuel tank, if other than LPG, must be emptied 

or removed.

    (2) Each LPG fuel tank for automatic temperature control equipment 

must have its discharge valve closed and its fuel feed line 

disconnected.

    (m) Tanks constructed and maintained in compliance with Spec. 106A 

or 110A (Sec. Sec. 179.300, 179.301 of this subchapter) that are 

authorized for the shipment of hazardous materials by highway in part 

173 of this subchapter must be carried in accordance with the following 

requirements:

    (1) Tanks must be securely chocked or clamped on vehicles to prevent 

any shifting.

    (2) Equipment suitable for handling a tank must be provided at any 

point where a tank is to be loaded upon or removed from a vehicle.

    (3) No more than two cargo carrying vehicles may be in the same 

combination of vehicles.

    (4) Compliance with Sec. Sec. 174.200 and 174.204 of this 

subchapter for combination rail freight, highway shipments and for 

trailer-on-flat-car service is required.

    (n) Specification 56, 57, IM 101, and IM 102 portable tanks, when 

loaded, may not be stacked on each other nor placed under other freight 

during transportation by motor vehicle.

    (o) Unloading of IM and UN portable tanks. No person may unload an 

IM or UN portable tank while it remains on a transport vehicle with the 

motive power unit attached except under the following conditions:

    (1) The unloading operation must be attended by a qualified person 

in accordance with the requirements in paragraph (i) of this section. 

The person performing unloading functions must be trained in handling 

emergencies that may occur during the unloading operation.

    (2) Prior to unloading, the operator of the vehicle on which the 

portable tank is transported must ascertain that the conditions of this 

paragraph (o) are met.

    (3) An IM or UN portable tank equipped with a bottom outlet as 

authorized in Column (7) of the Sec. 172.101 Table of this subchapter 

by assignment of a T Code in the appropriate proper shipping name entry, 

and that contains a liquid hazardous material of Class 3, PG I or II, or 

PG III with a flash point of less than 100 [deg]F (38 [deg]C); Division 

5.1, PG I or II; or Division 6.1, PG I or II, must conform to the outlet 

requirements in Sec. 178.275(d)(3) of this subchapter; or, until 

October 1, 2004, be unloaded only at a facility conforming to the 

following--

    (i) The applicable fire suppression requirements in 29 CFR 

1910.106(e), (f), (g), (h), and (i);

    (ii) The emergency shutdown requirements in 29 CFR 1910.119(f), 

1910.120(q) and 1910.38(a);

    (iii) The emergency response planning requirements in 29 CFR part 

1910 and 40 CFR part 68;

    (iv) An emergency discharge control procedure applicable to 

unloading operations, including instructions on handling emergencies 

that may occur during the unloading operation; and

    (v) Public access to the unloading area must be controlled in a 

manner ensuring no public access during unloading.



[[Page 785]]



    (4) Alternatively, conformance to equivalent or more stringent non-

federal requirements is authorized in place of paragraphs (o)(3)(i) 

through (o)(3)(iv) of this section.



[29 FR 18795, Dec. 29, 1964. Redesignated at 32 FR 5606, Apr. 5, 1967]



    Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting Sec. 

177.834, see the List of CFR Sections Affected which appears in the 

Finding Aids section of the printed volume and on GPO Access.