RQ determination per package, pallet, or shipment basis.

This is in response to your letter dated June 28, 2007, regarding the definition of a hazardous substance under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts l7l-180). In your letter, you state that an inspector advised you that reportable quantities, (RQ) are determined on a per package basis and that packages banded together on a pallet are collectively added to determine the RQ value. Specifically, you ask whether the RQ is determined on a per package, pallet, or shipment basis.

Under § 171.8, a hazardous substance is defined as a material including its mixtures and solution, that (1) is listed in the list of Hazardous Substances and Reportable Quantities, in § 172.101, Table 1 to Appendix A of the HMR; (2) is in a quantity, in one package, which equals or exceeds it reportable quantity; and (3) is in a concentration by weight which equals or exceeds the concentration corresponding to the RQ of the material, as shown in the table under § 171.8. A material with a RQ of 1 pound (e.g., PCBs) is a hazardous substance, when at least 1 pound of that material is contained in the mixture per package and the concentration by weight of the material in the mixture equals or exceeds 0.002 percent (20 ppm).

The RQ must be met or exceeded in a quantity per package. Therefore, the definition of a hazardous substance does not include the aggregate of packages placed or stacked onto a load board such as a pallet and secured by strapping, shrink wrapping, stretch wrapping, or other suitable means for convenience in handling of a package or to consolidate two or more packages.