46 CFR § 154.1725 - Ethylene oxide.

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t46/s154.1725"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "46 CFR § 154.1725 - Ethylene oxide."
title_number: 46
title_name: "Shipping"
section_number: "154.1725"
section_name: "Ethylene oxide."
chapter_name: "COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY"
subchapter_number: "O"
subchapter_name: "CERTAIN BULK DANGEROUS CARGOES"
part_number: "154"
part_name: "SAFETY STANDARDS FOR SELF-PROPELLED VESSELS CARRYING BULK LIQUEFIED GASES"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "46 U.S.C. 3703, 9101; Department of Homeland Security Delegation No. 0170.1."
regulatory_source: "CGD 74-289, 44 FR 26009, May 3, 1979, unless otherwise noted."
cfr_part: "154"
---


# 154.1725 Ethylene oxide.

(a) A vessel carrying ethylene oxide must:

(1) Have cargo piping, vent piping, and refrigeration equipment that have no connections to other systems;

(2) Have valves, flanges, fittings, and accessory equipment made of steel, stainless steel, except types 416 and 442, or other material specially approved by the Commandant (CG-OES);

(3) Have valve disk faces, and other wearing parts of valves made of stainless steel containing not less than 11% chromium;

(4) Have gaskets constructed of spirally wound stainless steel with Teflon or other material specially approved by the Commandant (CG-OES);

(5) Not have asbestos, rubber, or cast iron components in the cargo containment system and piping;

(6) Not have threaded joints in cargo piping;

(7) Have a water spray system under § 154.1105 that protects the above deck cargo piping; and

(8) Have a nitrogen inerting system or on board nitrogen gas storage that can inert the vapor space of an ethylene oxide cargo tank for a period of 30 days under the condition of paragraph (e) of this section.

(b) Cargo hose used for ethylene oxide must:

(1) Be specially approved by the Commandant (CG-OES); and

(2) Be marked “For (Alkylene or Ethylene) Oxide Transfer Only.”

(c) Ethylene oxide must be maintained at less than 30 °C (86 °F).

(d) Cargo tank relief valves for tanks containing ethylene oxide must be set at 539 kPa gauge (78.2 psig) or higher.

(e) The vapor space of a cargo tank carrying ethylene oxide must be maintained at a nitrogen concentration of 45% by volume.

(f) A vessel must have a method for jettisoning ethylene oxide that meets §§ 154.356 and 154.1872.

[CGD 74-289, 44 FR 26009, May 3, 1979, as amended by CGD 82-063b, 48 FR 4782, Feb. 3, 1983; USCG-2014-0688, 79 FR 58285, Sept. 29, 2014]