The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has denied a petition to regulate polyurethane (PU) foam and certain finished products containing PU foam as hazardous materials for purposes of transportation in commerce.
The petition was submitted in October 2006 by the National Association of State Fire Marshals (NASFM). The association stated that regulation of PU foam was essential to the safety of emergency responders and the public and that responders have the absolute right to information about PU so they may take special precautions at incidents.
Specifically, NASFM requested that PHMSA assign a North American Identification Number to PU foam; except shippers/carriers from requiring shipping papers, employee training, specific packaging requirements, and placarding; require carriers to display orange panels with the identification number to identify the presence of PU foam for initial responders; require transportation incidents involving PU foam fires to be reported to PHMSA; publish a safety alert identifying measures initial responders can take to protect themselves and the public during the initial response phase of the incident involving PU foam; and incorporate safety measures published in the safety alert into the Emergency Response Guidebook.
PHMSA reported that it received 30 comments on NASFM’s petition and all but the comment from NASFM opposed classifying PU foam as a hazardous material.
PHMSA generally agreed with those opposed to listing PU as a regulated hazmat and offered the following reasons:
•A PU fire is similar to house fires and other fires with organic materials. A PU fire does not require special fire-fighting agents, procedures, or protective equipment and, therefore, does not pose an unreasonable danger to first responders.
•PU foam is not designated as a hazardous material because it is not considered a substance or material capable of posing an acute or unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce.
•PU foam products are solid organic materials. Like many other plastic products, PU foam products were not deemed to meet the “readily combustible solid” definition and test criteria when DOT and the U.N. Committee of Experts developed the definition, test method, and criteria in 1990.
•Emergency responders are already trained to be aware of hazards associated with vehicle fires due to components built into the vehicle, many of which employ vinyl and other polymers.
•Costs associated with identifying, classifying, and marking all PU articles and substances for purposes of transportation in commerce would far exceed the benefits.
PHMSA’s denial of a petition to classify PU foam and certain finished products containing PU foam as hazmats was published in the April 6, 2011, FR.