Requirements for test and inspection of specification cargo tanks.
(a)General.
(1) A cargo tank constructed in accordance with a DOT specification for which a test or inspection specified in this section has become due, may not be filled and offered for transportation or transported until the test or inspection has been successfully completed. This paragraph does not apply to any cargo tank filled prior to the test or inspection due date.
(2) Except during a pressure test, a cargo tank may not be subjected to a pressure greater than its design pressure or MAWP.
(3) A person witnessing or performing a test or inspection specified in this section must meet the minimum qualifications prescribed in § 180.409.
(4) Each cargo tank must be evaluated in accordance with the acceptable results of tests and inspections prescribed in § 180.411.
(5) Each cargo tank which has successfully passed a test or inspection specified in this section must be marked in accordance with § 180.415.
(6) A cargo tank which fails a prescribed test or inspection must:
(i) Be repaired and retested in accordance with § 180.413; or
(ii) Be removed from hazardous materials service and the specification plate removed, obliterated or covered in a secure manner.
(b)Conditions requiring test and inspection of cargo tanks. Without regard to any other test or inspection requirements, a specification cargo tank must be tested and inspected in accordance with this section prior to further use if:
(1) The cargo tank shows evidence of dents, cuts, gouges, corroded or abraded areas, leakage, or any other condition that might render it unsafe for hazardous materials service. At a minimum, any area of a cargo tank showing evidence of dents, cuts, digs, gouges, or corroded or abraded areas must be thickness tested in accordance with the procedures set forth in paragraphs (i)(2), (i)(3), (i)(5), and (i)(6) of this section and evaluated in accordance with the criteria prescribed in § 180.411. Any signs of leakage must be repaired in accordance with § 180.413. The suitability of any repair affecting the structural integrity of the cargo tank must be determined either by the testing required in the applicable manufacturing specification or in paragraph (g)(1)(iv) of this section.
(2) The cargo tank has sustained damage to an extent that may adversely affect its lading retention capability. A damaged cargo tank must be pressure tested in accordance with the procedures set forth in paragraph (g) of this section.
(3) The cargo tank has been out of hazardous materials transportation service for a period of one year or more. Each cargo tank that has been out of hazardous materials transportation service for a period of one year or more must be pressure tested in accordance with § 180.407(g) prior to further use.
(4) [Reserved]
(5) The Department so requires based on the existence of probable cause that the cargo tank is in an unsafe operating condition.
(c)Periodic test and inspection. Each specification cargo tank must be tested and inspected as specified in the following table by an inspector meeting the qualifications in § 180.409. The retest date shall be determined from the specified interval identified in the following table from the most recent inspection or the CTMV certification date.