Triumvirate Environmental — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, D.C. 20590 400 Seventh Street, S.W. Pipeline and NOV 30 2005 Administration Hazardous Materials Safety Mr. Rick Foote Ref. No. 05-0240 Sr. Environmental Compliance Advisor Triumvirate Environmental 61 Inner Belt Road Somerville, MA 02143 Dear Mr. Foote: This responds to your September 19, 2005 letter requesting clarification on the classification of rubidium (Rb-87) as a radioactive material under the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180). Specifically, you ask for confirmation that your material, rubidium (Rb-87), is not a hazardous material based on the definition and on activity limits in §§ 173.433 and 173.436. According to your letter, your material (Rb-87) is contained within an article, specifically within a small envelope that is part of a measuring device used in GPS system. The activity of the Rb-87 is less than 1.7 × 10 (negative) 4"* micro curies (approximately 6.29 becquerels). Your understanding is correct. The item will not be a Class 7 hazardous material if the total activity of Rb-87 in a consignment is less than 10 million bequerels. In almost all cases, this item will not be a Class 7 hazardous material. It could become a Class 7 hazardous material only if a single consignment were to contain over 1,590,000 of these items, and the activity concentration exceeds 10,000 becquerels per gram. I hope this answers your inquiry. 173.433 173.436 050240#

Page 250o4 3173.433 3173.436 RAM Exceptions 05-024C March 1, 2005 Mr. Edward T. Mazzullo Director, Office of Hazardous Materials Standards U.S. DOT/PHMSA (DHM-10) 400 7th Street S.W. Washington, D.C. 20590-0001 RE: Hazardous Materials Regulation Clarification Dear Sir: My client ships a small amount of Rb-87 contained within an article. The rubidium is contained within a small "envelope" that is part of a measuring device used in GPS systems. The activity level from the RB-87 has an activity level of less then 1.7 x 10(negative) 4th micro curies. In order for a material to be considered radioactive first it must meet the definition of a radioactive material. The regulations define a radioactive as the following: "Radioactive material means any material containing radionuclides where both the activity concentration and the total activity in the consignment exceed the values specified in the table in § 173.436 or values derived according to the instructions in § 173.433" We feel that this amount and activity level for the Rb-87 is exempt from the regulations because the material has an activity rating of equal to or less then 1.0 X 10 -4 as per the table found in 49 CFR 173.436. Therefore, we feel that this material is not considered a hazardous material per DOT Hazardous Materials regulations. We are looking for a written confirmation of this information. Thank you Rick Foote Sr. Environmental Compliance Advisor#