Plasma Cutting Torch Maker Defeats Agency’s Danger Determination

The maker of a plasma torch used for oil pipe cutting defeated a federal regulator’s determination that it lacked authority to transport, and sell, such a device.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s decision was “arbitrary and capricious thrice over,” Judge Jerry E. Smith said for the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. PHMSA misinterpreted the law, didn’t adequately back up its reasoning, and “reached a conclusion that was directly contradicted by the evidence,” the court said Tuesday, vacating the agency’s ruling.

The radial cutting torches made by MCR Oil Tools LLC rely upon a thermite mixture ...