(a) General. The provisions of this section apply only to materials extremely poisonous by inhalation which are Division 2.3 materials in Hazard Zone A and Division 6.1 materials in Hazard Zone A, as defined in § 173.133(a)(2) of this subchapter. Such materials when shipped by, for, or to the Department of Defense may be transported by rail only if loaded and handled in accordance with the requirements of this section.

(b) A Division 2.3 Hazard Zone A or a Division 6.1 Hazard Zone A material extremely poisonous by inhalation may be transported in:

(c) Each shipment of one or more carloads of a material extremely poisonous by inhalation, as described in paragraph (b) of this section, must be accompanied by a Department of Defense qualified escort supplied with equipment to handle leaks and other packaging failures which could result in escape of the material. The escort shall remain with the shipment during the entire time that it is in the custody of the carrier and in the event of leakage or escape of material, shall make repairs and perform decontamination as necessary.

(d) When a material extremely poisonous by inhalation is transported in a tank, the tank must be securely mounted on a rail car especially provided for it or on a gondola car prepared with substantial wooden frames and blocks.

(e) Bombs, projectiles, and cannon ammunition being transported by rail must be loaded, blocked and braced as shown in Bureau of Explosives Pamphlet No. 6A, or Department of Defense specifications. When a shipment is loaded in a gondola car it must be securely blocked and braced and not loaded higher than the sides of the car.

(f) When a material extremely poisonous by inhalation is transported in drums with filling holes in the heads, they must be loaded on their bottoms. They may be loaded in rows, lengthwise of the car and any space between the sides of the car and the nearest row of drums must be “filled in” with wooden boards or lumber nailed to sides of the car sufficient in length and width to contact both hoops of drums, or they may be loaded across the car in staggered stacks of which the number of drums in alternate stacks is reduced by one drum. All drums in stacks following the first stack loaded in the end of the car must be placed tightly into the angle of the space formed by the sidewalls of the drum in the preceding stack. Any space between the sides of the car and the drums in stacks having the greater number of drums must be filled in with wooden boards or lumber nailed to sides of the car sufficient in length and width to contact both hoops of the drums.

(g) When a material extremely poisonous by inhalation is transported in drums with filling holes in the sides, they must be loaded on their sides with the filling holes up. They must be loaded lengthwise of the car in rows and any space between the sides of the car and the nearest row of drums must be filled in with wooden boards or lumber nailed to sides of the car sufficient in length and width to contact both hoops of the drums.

(h) When a material extremely poisonous by inhalation is transported in drums in a boxcar, they must be loaded from ends of the car toward the space between the car doors, and there braced by center gates and wedges. See Sketch 1, Bureau of Explosives Pamphlet No. 6.

(i) The doorways of a boxcar in which a material poisonous by inhalation is being transported must be protected by one of the methods prescribed in Sketch 1, Bureau of Explosives Pamphlet No. 6A.