[Order 39, 24 FR. 5641, July 14, 1959, as amended by Order 40, 24 F.R. 8059, Oct. 6, 1959] § 74.557 Poison gas placard. (a) The "Poison gas" placard, for tank cars, must be of rectangular shape, measuring 13 inches by 17 inches, and must bear the wording as shown in the following cut; the printing must be in red with the exception of name of contents which must be in black, as follows: POISON GAS PLACARD (Reduced size) [Order 55, 27 F.R. 6739, July 17, 1962] Subpart D-Unloading From Cars § 74.560 Tank car delivery. (a) Tank cars containing flammable liquids or flammable poison gas having a flash point of 80° F. or below, except liquid road asphalt or tar, must not be delivered unless originally consigned or subsequently reconsigned to parties having private-siding (see Note 1 of this section) or to parties using railroad-siding facilities which have been equipped for piping the liquid from tank cars to permanent storage tanks of sufficient capacity to receive contents of car. (b) No tank car containing compressed gas may be unloaded unless the car is consigned for delivery and unloading on a private track (see Note 1 to subparagraph (2) of this paragraph), except that where no private track is available, delivery and unloading on carrier tracks is permitted provided the following conditions are complied with: (1) Any tank car of ICC-106A or 110A type (see § 78.275, § 78.276 or § 78.293 of this chapter) may be delivered and the loaded unit tanks may be removed from car frame on carrier tracks, if, before car is accepted for transportation, the shipper has obtained from the delivering carrier and filed with originating carrier, written permission (see Note 2 to subparagraph (2) of this paragraph) for such removal. The consignee must furnish adequately safe mechanical hoist, obtained from the carrier if desirable, by which the tanks are lifted from the car and deposited directly upon vehicles furnished by the consignee for immediate removal from carrier property or tanks must be lifted by adequately safe mechanical hoist from car directly to vessels for further transportation. (2) Any tank car of other than ICC106A or 110A type (see §§ 78.275, 78.276, or 78.293 of this chapter), containing anhydrous ammonia, liquefied hydrocarbon or liquefied petroleum gas, and having interior pipes of liquid and gas discharge valves equipped with check valves, may be delivered and unloaded on carrier tracks, if the lading is piped directly from the car to permanent storage tanks of sufficient capacity to receive the entire contents of the car. Such cars may also be stored on a private track or on a carrier track when designated by the carrier for such storage. NOTE 1: For this purpose, a private track is a track outside of carrier's right-of-way, yard and terminals, and of which the carrier does not own either the rails, ties, roadbed or right-of-way; or a track or portion of a track which is devoted to the purpose of its user, either by lease or written agreement, in which case the lease or written agreement will be considered as equivalent to ownership. NOTE 2: Carriers should give permission for the unloading of these containers on carrier tracks only where no private siding is available within reasonable trucking distance of final destination. The danger involved is the release of compressed gases due to accidental injury to container in handling. The exposure to this danger decreases directly with the isolation of the unloading point. [15 F.R. 8352, Dec. 2, 1950, as amended by Order 10, 18 F.R. 3188, June 2, 1953; Order 14, 19 F.R. 3261, June 3, 1954; Order 17, 19 F.R. 8529, Dec. 14, 1954; Order 32, 22 F.R. 7839, Oct. 3, 1957; Order 39, 24 F.R. 5641, July 14, 1959] § 74.561 Tank car unloading. (a) In unloading tank cars the following rules must be observed (see also $74.560 for compressed gases): (1) Unloading operations should be performed only by reliable persons properly instructed and made responsible for careful compliance with this part. (2) Brakes must be set and wheels blocked on all cars being unloaded. (3) Caution signs must be so placed on the track or car as to give necessary warning to persons approaching car from open end or ends of siding and must be left up until after car is unloaded and disconnected from discharge connection. Signs must be of metal or other suitable material, at least 12 by 15 inches in size and bear the words, "STOP-Tank Car Connected", or "STOP-Men at Work", the word "STOP" being in letters at least 4 inches high and the other words in letters at least 2 inches high. The letters must be white on a blue background. (4) Before manhole cover or outlet valve cap is removed, tank car must be relieved of all interior pressure by cooling tank with water or venting tank by raising safety valve or opening vent on dome at short intervals. If venting to relieve pressure will cause a dangerous amount of vapor to collect outside the car, venting and unloading must be deferred until pressure is reduced by allowing the car to stand overnight or otherwise cooling the contents. These precautions are not necessary when car is equipped with a manhole cover which hinges inward or with an inner manhole cover which does not have to be removed to unload the car, and when pressure is relieved by piping vapor into a condenser or storage tank. (b) After pressure is released, seal should be broken and manhole cover removed as follows: (1) Screw type. Cover must be loosened by placing bar between manhole cover lug and knob. After two completeturns, so that vent openings are exposed, the operation must be stopped, and if there is any sound of escaping vapor, the cover must be again screwed down tightly and interior pressure relieved as prescribed in paragraph (a) (4) of this section, before again attempting to remove the cover. (2) Hinged and bolted type. All nuts must be unscrewed one complete turn, after which same precautions as pre scribed for screw type cover must be observed. (3) Interior type. All dirt and cinders must be carefully removed from around cover before yoke is unscrewed. (c) When car is unloaded through bottom outlet valve, manhole cover must be adjusted as follows: (1) Screw type. Manhole cover must be put in place, but not entirely screwed down, in order that air may enter tank through vent holes in threaded flange of cover. (2) Hinged and bolted type. A small wooden block should be placed under one edge of cover. (3) Interior type. Screw must be tightened up in yoke so that cover will be brought up within one-half inch of closed position. (d) When unloading through bottom outlet of cars equipped with interior manhole type of covers, and in all cases where unloading is done through the manhole (unless special covers are used, provided with safety-vent opening and tight connection for discharge outlet), the manhole must be protected against entrance of sparks or other sources of ignition of vapor by asbestos or metal covers or by being covered and surrounded with wet burlap. Burlap must be kept damp by replacement or the application of water as needed. (e) Seals or other substances must not be thrown into the tank. Also care must be taken to avoid spilling any of the contents over car or tank. (f) Valve rod handle or control in dome must be operated a few times to see that outlet valve in bottom of tank is on its seat before valve cap is removed. (g) Valve cap, or reducer when large outlet is to be used, must be removed with suitable wrench after set screws are loosened and a pail is placed in position to catch any liquid that may be in outlet chamber. If valve cap or reducer does not unscrew easily, it must be tapped lightly with mallet or wooden block in an upward direction. If leakage shows upon starting the removal, cap or reducer must not be entirely unscrewed, but sufficient threads must be left engaged and sufficient time allowed to permit escape of any accumulation of liquid in the outlet chamber. If leakage stops or initial rate of leakage di minishes materially, cap or reducer may be entirely removed. If initial rate of leakage continues, further efforts must be made to seat the outlet valve, see paragraph (f) of this section. If this fails, the cap or reducer must be screwed up tight and tank must be unloaded through the dome. If upon removal of the outlet cap the outlet chamber is found to be blocked with frozen liquid or any other matter, replace cap immediately and make careful examination to determine that outlet casting has not been cracked. If the obstruction is not frozen liquid, the car must be unloaded through the dome. If the obstruction is frozen liquid and no crack has been found in the outlet casting, the car may, if circumstances require it, be unloaded from the bottom as follows: (1) Remove cap and attach unloading connections immediately. Then, before opening the valve inside the tank car, apply steam to outside of outlet casting or wrap casting with burlap or other rags and apply hot water to melt the frozen liquid. In any event, top unloading is considered safer than bottom unloading. (h) Unloading connections must be securely attached to unloading pipes on dome or to bottom discharge outlets before discharge valves are opened. (i) Tank cars must not be allowed to stand with unloading connections attached after unloading is completed, and throughout the entire period of unloading, or while car is connected to unloading device, the car must be attended by the unloader. (j) If necessary to discontinue unloading a tank car for any reason, all unloading connections must be disconnected. All valves must first be tightly closed, and the closures of all other openings securely applied. (k) As soon as a tank car is completely unloaded, all valves must be made tight, the unloading connections must be removed and all other closures made tight, except that heater coil inlet and outlet pipes must be left open for drainage. The manhole cover must be applied by the use of a bar or wrench, the outlet valves reducer and outlet valve cap by the use of a wrench having a handle at least 36 inches long, and the outlet valve cap plug, end plug, and all other closures of openings and of their protective housings by the use of a suitable tool. (1) Railroad defect cards must not be removed. (m) Ground around connections must be covered with fresh, dry sand or dirt, if oil or gasoline has been spilled previously. (n) All tools and implements used in connection with unloading should be kept free from oil, dirt, and grit. [15 F.R. 8352, Dec. 2, 1950] § 74.562 Removal of placards and car certificate after unloading. (a) When lading requiring placards or car certificates is removed from cars other than tank cars, placards and car certificates must be removed by the party unloading the car. (b) After tank car is unloaded, the party unloading the car must remove all shipping cards and "Dangerous" placards from car, or may replace or cover the placards with the "DangerousEmpty" placards prescribed in § 74.563, or reverse the reversible metal placards so as to exhibit the "Dangerous-Empty" wording, and must promptly notify the railroad agent that car is empty. (c) Tank cars filled with water or an inert gas after unloading phosphorus must have the "Dangerous" placards replaced by the caution placard for residual phosphorus as prescribed in § 74.555. (d) After flammable poison gas is unloaded from tank car, the party unloading the car must remove all shipping cards and "Flammable Poison Gas" placards from car. "Dangerous-Empty Flammable Poison Gas" placards detailed in § 74.563 must be applied to empty tank car. (e) After poison gas is unloaded from tank car, the party unloading the car must remove all shipping cards and "Poison Gas" placards from car. "Dangerous-Empty Poison Gas" placards detailed in § 74.563 (f) must be applied to empty tank car. [15 F.R. 8353, Dec. 2, 1950, as amended by Order 5, 17 F.R. 4296, May 10, 1952; Order 37, 24 F.R. 907, Feb. 6, 1959; Order 39, 24 F.R. 5641, July 14, 1959; Order 55, 27 F.R. 6739, July 17, 1962] (see paragraphs (d) and (f) of this section for "Flammable Poison GasEmpty" and "Poison Gas-Empty" placards respectively). The printing must be as shown in the cuts in this section, in black on strong white paper, or on tag board designated commercially as 100 percent sulphate, weighing 125 pounds per ream, of sheets 24 inches by 36 inches, and having a resistance of not less than 60 pounds per square inch, Mullen test. (b) The reverse side of such placards may bear the wording as prescribed for the "Dangerous" placard. (See § 74.552.) (c) Paper placards must be securely pasted over the "Dangerous" placards pasted on metal placard boards provided for the purpose. Tag board placards must be securely tacked to wooden boards or inserted in holders provided for the purpose. "DANGEROUS EMPTY" PLACARD |