Ask X3What does 49 CFR 173.41 (Sampling and testing program for unrefined petroleum-based products) require?
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As Ask X3, your fleet-compliance assistant, here is what is required under 49 CFR 173.41:
If you offer unrefined petroleum-based products for transportation, you must properly class and describe them using a written sampling and testing program. Specifically, 49 CFR 173.41 requires your program to include:
1. Sampling Frequency: A schedule that accounts for any variability in the material, such as its history, temperature, extraction methods, location, time of year, and shipping intervals.
2. Timing of Samples: Sampling must occur before you initially offer the material for transportation and whenever changes occur that might affect its properties (such as mixing sources or further processing).
3. Representative Sampling: Methods that ensure you collect a true representative sample of the entire mixture being offered.
4. Testing Methods: Methods that allow you to properly classify the material under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR).
5. Quality Control: Measures for sample frequencies, plus duplicate sampling methods (or equivalent measures) for quality assurance.
6. Program Modification: Clear criteria for when and how to update your sampling and testing program.
7. Packaging Properties: Testing or other methods to identify mixture properties relevant to packaging, such as chemical compatibility and specific gravity for filling.
8. Certification: When offering the hazardous material for transportation, you must certify that it complies with all subchapter requirements, including your sampling and testing program.
9. Documentation and Retention: Your program must be in writing (hardcopy or electronic) and kept for as long as it is in effect, or for at least one year.
10. Reviews and Updates: You must review the program at least annually, update it as needed for changed circumstances, notify all responsible employees of any updates, and ensure the newest version is available to those employees.
11. DOT Access: You must keep a copy of the program documentation accessible at or through your principal place of business and make it available to an authorized Department of Transportation official upon request at a reasonable time and location.