NPGA & PERC Lay Foundation For Cylinder Standards

On Thursday, October 26^th, representatives from NPGA, PERC, and the Executive Committee met with the Associate Administrator for Hazardous Materials at PHMSA, along with his staff. At issue were recent citations for illegible or unreadable markings on cylinders. Our team explained our efforts to enhance safety, training, and inspection, and the desire to work together to resolve this outstanding issue. We also conveyed recommendations coming out of Louisville on this issue.

PHMSA was very receptive to our concerns, and we resolved to jointly follow a path forward. NPGA and PERC will work with PHMSA to develop standards for readability and legibility on cylinders, as well as methods to protect those markings. PHMSA, NPGA, and PERC will work together to send these standards to approved RIN and VIN holders, and to conduct coordinated communications outreach on the standards. Further, industry will have 24 months from when standards are agreed to, with progress reports at regular intervals delivered to PHMSA, to develop and implement the training for these new standards, as well as inspect cylinders before enforcement will re-commence.

For further information on this issue, please contact Benjamin Nussdorf.