Polymet Alloys, Inc. — Hazardous Materials Safety Interpretation

Page 1U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration JUL - 8 2010 1200 New Jersey Ave, SE Washington, D.C. 20590 Mr. Matt Gilmore Sales and Operations Manager Polyrnet Alloys, Inc. 170 I Providence Park, Suite 100 Birmingham, AL 35242 Ref. No.: 10-0117 Dear Mr. Gilmore: This is in response to your June 2, 2010 letter requesting clarification on the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to an approximately 91.4 % pure calcium-silicon (33/67) alloy material produced by Rima Industrial S/ A in Brazil. You request confirmation from this office that the test report submitted with your letter provides sufficient verification that the tested material is not subject to the requirements ofthe HMR. As provided in § 173.22, it is the shipper's responsibility to properly classify a hazardous material. Such determinations are not required to be verified by this office. However, based on the test results you provided, it is our opinion that the calcium-silicon alloy material described in the test report does not meet the definition of a Division 4.3 material and, provided it does not meet the criteria for another hazard class, it is not subject to the HMR. I hope this answers your inquiry. If you have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact this office. Charles E. Betts ief, Standards Development Office ofHazardous Materials Standards#

Page 2Drakeford, Carol From: Betts, Charles (PHMSA) ~ ;"'P€ (IS .'nI)nslh,·j·~ Sent: Wednesday, June 02,201012:56 PM 'iT"'" I To: Drakeford, Carolyn (PHMSA) 10 0 I 111 Subject: FW: Request for Hazmat Exemption for Calcium Silicon - Ii I I Attachments: GexCon-2010-F44586-RA-3_rev-01.pdf Please log this new request for interpretation in for proper handling. From: Matt Gilmore [mailto:matt.gilmore@polymetalloys.com] Sent: Wednesday, June 02, 2010 12:42 PM To: Betts, Charles (PHMSA) Subject: Request for Hazmat Exemption for Calcium Silicon Dear Mr. Betts, First and foremost, I would like to thank you for your time and attention during our conversation yesterday. As we discussed, Polymet Alloys Inc. would like to request confirmation from the Office of Hazardous Materials Standards that the Calcium Silicon produced by Rima Industrial S/A in Brazil does not meet the definition of Division 4.3 material, hence it should not be subject to the HMR. Attached you will find test results issued by Gexcon, an independent lab, which was performed on Rima Industrial S/A's Calcium Silicon on January 3, 2010. As you can see from the report, Gexcon concluded: liThe substance tested does not accommodate the criteria for classification under the division 4.3 of the "United Nations Recommendations on the Transport of Dangerous Goods, Manual of Test and Criteria Part III - 33.4.1.4" [lJ. Some gas did develop in contact with water. It is highly likely that the gas developed was hydrogen. The gas development slowed after a peak some hours after the test started". Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any question or need any further clarification. Sincerely, MATT GILMORE Sales and Operations Manager Mechanical Engineer POLYMET ALLOYS, INC. 1701 Providence Park Suite 100, Birmingham, Al35242 USA E-mail: matt.gilmore@polymetalloys.com Office: +1 (205) 981-2200 Ext. 105 Mobile: +1 (205) 937-9869 Fax: +1 (205)981-1583 Home Page: www.polymetalloys.com The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments thereto may contain privileged and confidential information. It is intended only for the use of the person(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any review, dissemination, distribution or duplication ofthis communication is strictly prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender immediately by reply email or at +1 (205)981-2200 and destroy all copies of the original message. 1#