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 Code of Federal Regulations (Last Updated: November 8, 2024)
 Title 49 - Transportation
 Subtitle B - Other Regulations Relating to Transportation
 Chapter I - Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Department of Transportation
 SubChapter C - Hazardous Materials Regulations
 Part 171 - General Information, Regulations, and Definitions
 Subpart A - Applicability, General Requirements, and North American Shipments

  § 171.10 - Units of measure.  

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  • § 171.10 Units of measure.

    (a) General. To ensure compatibility with international transportation standards, most units of measure in this subchapter are expressed using the International System of Units (“SI” or metric). Where SI units appear, they are the regulatory standard. U.S. standard or customary units, which appear in parentheses following the SI units, are for information only and are not intended to be the regulatory standard.

    (b) Abbreviations for SI units of measure generally used throughout this subchapter are as shown in paragraph (c) of this section. Customary units shown throughout this subchapter are generally not abbreviated.

    (c) Conversion values.

    (1) Conversion values are provided in the following table and are based on values provided in ASTM E 380, “Standard for Metric Practice”.

    (2) If an exact conversion is needed, the following conversion table should be used.

    Table of Conversion Factors for SI Units

    Measurement SI to U.S. standard U.S. standard to SI
    Activity 1 TBq = 27 Ci 1 Ci = 0.037 TBq
    Length 1 cm = 0.3937008 in
    1 m = 3.280840 ft    		 1 in = 2.540000 cm
    1 ft = 0.3048000 m
    Thickness 1 mm = 0.03937008 in 1 in = 25.40000 mm
    Mass (weight) 1 kg = 2.204622 lb
    1 g = 0.03527397 oz    		 1 lb = 0.4535924 kg
    1 oz = 28.34952 g
    Pressure 1 kPa = 0.1450377 psi
    1 Bar = 100 kPa = 14.504 psi
    1 kPa = 7.5 mm Hg    		 1 psi = 6.894757 kPa
    1 psi = 0.06895 Bar
    Radiation level 1 Sv/hr = 100 rem/hr 1 rem/hr = 0.01 Sv/hr
    Volume (liquid) 1 L = 0.2641720 gal
    1 mL = 0.03381402 oz
    1 m3 = 35.31466 ft3     		1 gal = 3.785412 L
    1 oz = 29.57353 mL
    1 ft3 = 0.02831685 m3
    Density 1 kg/m3 = 0.06242797 lb/ft3 1 lb/ft3 = 16.01846 kg/m3
    Force 1 Newton = 0.2248 Pound-force 1 Pound-force = 4.483 N

    Abbreviation for units of measure are as follows:

    Unit of measure and abbreviation:

    (SI): millimeter, mm; centimeter, cm; meter, m; gram, g; kilogram, kg; kiloPascal, kPa; liter, L; milliliter, mL; cubic meter, m3; Terabecquerel, TBq; Gigabecquerel, GBq; millisievert, mSv; Newton, N;

    (U.S.): Inch, in; foot, ft; ounce, oz; pound, lb; psig, psi; gallon, gal; cubic feet, ft3; Curie, Ci; millicurie, mCi; millirem, mrem.

    [Amdt. 171-111, 56 FR 66159, Dec. 20, 1991, as amended by Amdt. 171-136, 60 FR 49108, Sept. 21, 1995; Amdt. 171-135, 60 FR 50302, Sept. 28, 1995; 66 FR 33335, June 21, 2001; 66 FR 45378, Aug. 28, 2001; 68 FR 75740, Dec. 31, 2003]