[Federal Register: January 18, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 12)]
[Notices]
[Page 4896-4897]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18ja01-162]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Research and Special Programs Administration
[Docket No. RSPA-01-8587; Notice No. 01-01]
Hazardous Materials Safety Advisory: Unauthorized Marking of
Compressed Gas Cylinders
AGENCY: Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), DOT.
ACTION: Safety Advisory Notice.
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SUMMARY: This is to notify the public that RSPA is investigating the
apparent unauthorized and improper marking of high-pressure compressed
gas cylinders by FESS, Inc. d/b/a Fire Extinguisher Service and Sales,
3303 Superior Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, during the period 1995 to the
present. Those cylinders may pose a safety risk to the public. Under no
circumstances should a cylinder described in this safety advisory be
filled, refilled or used for any purpose other than scrap until it is
reinspected and retested by a DOT-authorized retest facility.
RSPA requires that compressed gas cylinders undergo a visual
reinspection and a hydrostatic retest on a periodic basis, in
accordance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), in order to
verify that a cylinder has the structural integrity for continued use.
If the required visual reinspection and hydrostatic retest are not
performed properly, a cylinder with compromised structural integrity
may fail (leak or burst) in continued service, when it should have been
condemned. Serious personal injury, death, and property damage could
result from rupture of a cylinder. Cylinders that have not been
retested in accordance with the HMR may not be charged or filled with a
hazardous material (compressed gas).
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Guadalupe ``Lupe'' Castellanos,
Hazardous Materials Enforcement Specialist, Central Region, Office of
Hazardous Materials Enforcement, Research and Special Programs
Administration, US Department of Transportation, 2350 East Devon
Avenue, Des Plaines, Illinois 60018. Telephone: (847) 294-8580; Fax:
(847) 294-8590.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Until March 19, 1998, FESS held a retester
identification number (RIN) issued by RSPA, authorizing FESS to
requalify DOT and ICC specification compressed gas cylinders for
continued use in accordance with the requirements in 49 CFR 173.34(e)
of the HMR for performing a periodic visual inspection and hydrostatic
retest. In its most recent application for renewal of its RIN, FESS
stated that it reinspected and retested approximately 800 DOT
specification 3A, 3AA, and 3AL cylinders each year. When used as fire
extinguishers, the retest period for these cylinders can be as long as
12 years. 49 CFR 173.34(e)(19)(ii).
During a recent inspection at FESS's facility in Cleveland, Ohio,
RSPA determined that FESS had marked an undetermined number of
cylinders after its RIN expired on March 19, 1998. RSPA also concluded
that FESS had marked many cylinders, both before and after that date,
which may not have been properly reinspected and retested. It appeared
to RSPA's inspector that FESS was not able to assure that its
hydrostatic retest equipment was accurate to the required degree, based
on its failure to have documentation showing the test pressures and
readings for its calibrated cylinder and based on the condition of its
retest apparatus and calibrated cylinder at the time of the inspection.
FESS acknowledged that it customarily marked cylinders before
inspecting and testing them, and its test records were incomplete in a
number of regards, including lack of entries for certain cylinders
observed during RSPA's inspection; the dates on which cylinders were
purportedly reinspected and retested; and the initial retest attempt
when a cylinder was retested a second time due to equipment failure on
the first retest attempt. In addition, FESS did not have the current
version of the requirements for requalification of compressed gas
cylinders in 49 CFR
[[Page 4897]]
173.34(e), and it did not hold pamphlets published by the Compressed
Gas Association and incorporated by reference in the HMR that apply to
its operations.
The current owner stated that he had assumed control of FESS during
1995. Because there has not been an inspection by an independent
inspection agency since that date and FESS failed to renew its RIN when
it expired, the matters discovered during RSPA's recent inspection
raise questions as to the condition of any cylinder marked by FESS with
a test date/year of ``95'' or later. These cylinders are marked with
FESS's RIN number B404, bracketed by the month and year of the
purported reinspection and retest date, in the following pattern:
B 4
Month Year
4 0
Any person holding a compressed gas cylinder that is marked as
having been last inspected and retested by FESS since 1995 should not
charge or fill the cylinder without first having it inspected and
retested by a cylinder requalification facility holding a currently
effective RIN. Any filled cylinder that is marked as having been last
inspected and retested by FESS since 1995 should be properly and safely
evacuated and purged (a cylinder filled with an atmospheric gas may be
vented), and taken to a DOT-authorized cylinder retest facility for
visual reinspection and hydrostatic retest to determine if it qualifies
for continued use in accordance with the HMR. Under no circumstances
should a cylinder described in this safety advisory be filled, refilled
or used for any purpose other than scrap until it is reinspected and
retested by a DOT-authorized retest facility.
Cylinder requalification facilities holding a currently effective
RIN are listed on the internet web site of RSPA's Office of Hazardous
Materials Safety, at
``http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://hazmat.dot.gov/files/approvals/hydro/hydro_retesters.htm''.
Persons finding or possessing cylinders described in this safety
notice may contact Ms. Guadalupe Castellanos for additional
information.
Issued in Washington, D.C. on January 11, 2001.
Robert A. McGuire,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.
[FR Doc. 01-1553 Filed 1-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P