49 CFR § 179.500-16 - Tests of pressure relief devices.
---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t49/s179.500-16"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "49 CFR § 179.500-16 - Tests of pressure relief devices."
title_number: 49
title_name: "Transportation"
section_number: "179.500-16"
section_name: "Tests of pressure relief devices."
chapter_name: "PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION"
subchapter_number: "C"
subchapter_name: "HAZARDOUS MATERIALS REGULATIONS"
part_number: "179"
part_name: "SPECIFICATIONS FOR TANK CARS"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-03-24"
last_updated: "2026-03-24"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
authority: "49 U.S.C. 5101-5128; 49 CFR 1.81 and 1.97."
regulatory_source: "29 FR 18995, Dec. 29, 1964, unless otherwise noted. Redesignated at 32 FR 5606, Apr. 5, 1967."
cfr_part: "179"
---
# 179.500-16 Tests of pressure relief devices.
(a) Pressure relief valves shall be tested by air or gas before being put into service. Valve shall open at pressure not exceeding the marked test pressure of tank and shall be vapor-tight at 80 percent of the marked test pressure. These limiting pressures shall not be affected by any auxiliary closure or other combination.
(b) For pressure relief devices that incorporate a rupture disc, samples of the discs used shall burst at a pressure not exceeding the marked test pressure of tank and not less than
7/10 of marked test pressure.
[Amdt. 179-32, 48 FR 27708, June 16, 1983, as amended at 66 FR 45391, Aug. 28, 2001]