[Federal Register: December 7, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 234)]
[Notices]               
[Page 68412]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07de99-118]                         

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Research and Special Programs Administration
[Docket No. RSPA-99-5143; Notice No.     99-14]

 
Safety Advisory: Unauthorized Marking of Compressed Gas Cylinders

AGENCY: Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA), DOT.

ACTION: Safety advisory notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This is to notify the public that high-pressure, compressed 
gas cylinders were marked but may not have been tested by Moore Fire 
Extinguishers and Fire Protection Company, Inc. (MFE), 462 Orange St., 
Albany, NY, during the period from1994 through March of 1999. Those 
cylinders may pose a safety risk to the public.
    A hydrostatic retest and visual inspection, conducted as prescribed 
in the Hazardous Materials Regulations (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. Serious personal injury, death, 
and property damage 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.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Based on inspections conducted by RSPA it 
has been determined that MFE has no test records for many cylinders 
that it stamped as having been tested, and that many cylinders bearing 
MFE's Retester Identification Number (RIN) may not have been tested by 
MFE and may pose a safety risk to the public.

    C 0
M     Y
    7 8

C087 is MFE's RIN, M is the month of the retest (e.g., 11) and Y is the 
year of the retest (e.g., 98).
    Anyone who has a cylinder that is marked with RIN number C087 and 
stamped with a retest date between 1994 and March 1999 should consider 
the retest marking invalid and should not refill and offer the cylinder 
for transportation until it has been successfully retested.

    Issued in Washington, DC on December 1, 1999.
Alan I. Roberts,
Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials Safety.
[FR Doc. 99-31615 Filed 12-6-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P