[roc-chat] Re: Fw: URGENT NOTICE FROM AEROTECH
- From: David Reese <dareese@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: roc-chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 30 Sep 2011 02:01:15 -0400
Having dealt with A LOT of Hazmat shipping recently, let me try and clarify a
little, hopefully, maybe.
The court case ruling won by TRA and NAR succeeded in removing AP-composite
propellants from the *ATF* List of Explosives. The issue currently at hand is
the *DOT* classification of propellants for commercial shipment. DOT has a
testable standard (49 CFR § 172 is the standard, DOD TB 700-2 are the tests)
which governs the classification of various compounds.
Unfortunately for us, AP composite propellant ends up as a 1.3 explosive in
those tests. It's a pain to ship 1.3, so several vendors applied for a special
permit to allow for reloads to be shipped as 1.4, which is easier to mail via
UPS/FedEx; if you've ever had high power motors shipped to you, they came in a
box with an orange 1.4 EXPLOSIVE sticker on the side and a copy of the special
permit that allowed the shipment to happen
(http://phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/SPA_App/OfferDocuments/SP10996_2006080754.pdf).
You can see the list of people authorized to ship under this particular
exemption by typing 10996 into the search box at
http://phmsa.dot.gov/hazmat/regs/sp-a/special-permits/search.
A similar process was undertaken to allow model rocket motors to be shipped as
4.1 Flammable Solids
(http://phmsa.dot.gov/staticfiles/PHMSA/SPA_App/OfferDocuments/SP7887_2006080041.pdf).
Shipping flammable solids isn't that much different from shipping 1.4
Explosives, so in practice, this didn't make that much of a change. The only
major is that the orange "EXPLOSIVE" sticker is replaced with a red and white
"FLAMMABLE SOLID" one; packaging (UN 4G) and shipping (Hazmat) requirements
remain the same.
So what's the dustup? It's words. It's much easier for a teacher or a camp
leader to receive a box that says "Flammable Solid" on the side than one that
says "Explosive". Storage-wise, shipment-wise, and handling-wise, there is no
difference.
Explosives and flammable solids both require the same boxes and the same Hazmat
shipping fees, so to you (the end consumer), the difference is nil.
To DOT, propellant *is* an explosive. And they have tests to prove it.
D
On Sep 30, 2011, at 1:06 AM, FreeLists Mailing List Manager wrote:
> From: "Jim - TFJ" <jim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [roc-chat] Fw: URGENT NOTICE FROM AEROTECH
> Date: Thu, 29 Sep 2011 08:20:50 -0700
>
> So, since High Power motors do not have ejection charges or igniters
> included, would that mean they should be shipped as
>
> flammable solids and not explosives since Judge Walton ruled that they are
> not "explosives"?
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