Classification of Ferrosilicon Products

This is in response to your letter dated November 19, 2008 and subsequent conversations with a member of my staff and a member of the Office of Hazardous Materials Technology, requesting clarification of the applicability of the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR; 49 CFR Parts 171-180) to ferrosilicon with between 50 and 75 percent silicon. Specifically, you request confirmation from this Office that the test report and supporting documentation submitted with your letter provides sufficient verification that the tested materials your company receives are not subject to the requirements of the 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 information you provided, including a description of the particle size of the material being tested, it is our opinion that the product your company receives containing ferrosilicon with between 50 and 75 percent silicon, and specifically tested in accordance with the United Nations (UN) Manual of Tests and Criteria, does not meet the definition in § 173.124(c) for a Division 4.3 (Dangerous When Wet) material. Therefore, provided the material does not meet any other hazard class definition, the tested material is not subject to the HMR and not regulated for purposes of the transportation of hazardous materials in commerce.