[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 122 (Wednesday, June 25, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37893-37894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-16003]


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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration

[Docket No. RSPA-03-14793; Notice No. 03-5]


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 
possible unauthorized marking of high-pressure compressed gas cylinders 
by ABM Fire Equipment, 73 North Main Street, Milford, NY 13807. RSPA 
has evidence that suggests ABM Fire Equipment marked, certified and 
returned to service an undetermined number of high-pressure DOT 
specification and exemption cylinders as being properly requalified in 
accordance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR), when the 
cylinders may not have been hydrostatically retested and visually 
inspected.
    A hydrostatic retest and visual inspection, conducted as prescribed 
in the HMR, are used to verify the structural integrity of a cylinder. 
If the hydrostatic retest and visual inspection are not performed in 
accordance with the HMR, a cylinder with compromised structural 
integrity may be returned to service when it should be condemned. 
Extensive property damage, serious personal injury, or death could 
result from rupture of a cylinder. Cylinders that have not been 
requalified in accordance with the HMR may not be charged or filled 
with compressed gas or other hazardous material and offered for 
transportation in commerce.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dave Clark, Hazardous Materials 
Enforcement Specialist, Eastern Region, Office of Hazardous Materials 
Enforcement, Research and Special Programs Administration, U.S. 
Department of Transportation, 820 Bear Tavern Road, Suite 306, West 
Trenton, NJ 08628. Telephone: (609) 989-2256, Fax: (609) 989-2277.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Through its investigation of ABM Fire 
Equipment, RSPA believes that ABM Fire Equipment marked, certified and 
returned to service an undetermined number of high-pressure cylinders 
as having been properly requalified in accordance with the HMR without 
conducting proper testing of the cylinders. Furthermore, RSPA 
discovered that ABM Fire Equipment did not maintain any retest or 
reinspection records for the high-pressure cylinders at issue. In 
addition, RSPA believes that ABM Fire Equipment marked an undetermined 
number of cylinders with the Requalification Identification Number 
(RIN) of another company. The HMR require that a cylinder retester 
obtain a RIN from RSPA. ABM Fire Equipment has never received 
authorization from RSPA to requalify high-pressure cylinders. On 
December 9, 2002, ABM Fire Equipment obtained authorization to 
requalify low-pressure cylinders under RIN D987.
    The high-pressure cylinders in question are stamped with RIN A471 
in the following pattern:
 A 4
 M Y
 1 7
    M is the month of retest (e.g., 10), and Y is the year of the 
retest (e.g., 03).
    RSPA issued RIN A471 to Automatic Protection Systems Corp., 410 
South Enterprise Parkway, Corpus Christi, Texas, on March 24, 1980. 
Automatic Protection Systems last renewed its RIN on January 25, 2001, 
and is the only authorized user of that RIN. Cylinders serviced and 
marked by Automatic Protection Systems of Corpus Christi, Texas are not 
covered by this safety advisory.
    RSPA believes that ABM Fire Equipment routinely marked cylinders 
with RIN A471, as far back as June 1991. This safety advisory covers 
all high-pressure cylinders that have ever been marked and certified as 
having been requalified by ABM Fire Equipment, and all low-pressure 
cylinders marked as having been requalified by ABM Fire Equipment prior 
to December 9, 2002. These cylinders may pose a safety risk to the 
public and should be considered unsafe for use in hazardous materials 
service. Furthermore, cylinders described in this safety advisory 
should not be filled with a hazardous material unless the cylinders are 
first properly retested by a DOT-authorized retest facility.
    Cylinders described in this safety advisory that are filled with an 
atmospheric gas should be vented or otherwise safely discharged, and 
then taken to a DOT-authorized cylinder retest facility for proper 
requalification to determine compliance with the HMR and the cylinders' 
suitability for continuing service. Cylinders described in this safety 
advisory that are filled with a material other than an atmospheric gas 
should not be vented, but instead should be safely discharged, and then 
taken to a DOT-authorized cylinder retest facility for proper 
requalification to determine compliance with the HMR and the cylinders' 
suitability for continuing service. Mr. Clark can provide a list of 
authorized retest facilities in your area, or you may obtain the list 
at the following Web site: http://hazmat.dot.gov. Cylinders described 
in this safety advisory should not be filled, refilled or used for 
their intended purposes until they are reinspected and retested by a 
DOT-authorized retest facility.
    RSPA requests that any person possessing a cylinder described in 
this safety advisory telephone or provide a facsimile to Mr. Clark with 
the following information for each cylinder: (1) The cylinder 
manufacturer's name, (2) the serial number of the cylinder, (3) the DOT 
specification or exemption information marked on the cylinder, (4) the 
month and year of the last marked requalification by ABM Fire 
Equipment, and (5) the location of the cylinder.


[[Page 37894]]


    Issued in Washington, DC on June 19, 2003.
Robert A. McGuire,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.
[FR Doc. 03-16003 Filed 6-24-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-60-P