Certain of Grace's assets and liabilities are reported at fair value. ASC 820 "Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures" defines fair value as the value that would be received at the measurement date in the principal or "most advantageous" market. Grace uses principal market data, whenever available, to value assets and liabilities that are required to be reported at fair value.

Grace has identified the following financial assets and liabilities that are subject to the fair value analysis required by ASC 820:

See Note 5 for a discussion of the fair value of Grace's debt. At March 31, 2012, the recorded values of other financial instruments such as cash equivalents, short-term investments, and trade receivables and payables approximated their fair values, based on the short-term maturities and floating rate characteristics of these instruments.

From time to time, Grace enters into commodity derivatives such as fixed-rate swaps with financial institutions to mitigate the risk of volatility of prices of natural gas or other commodities. Under fixed-rate swaps, Grace locks in a fixed rate with a financial institution for future purchases, purchases its commodity from a supplier at the prevailing market rate, and then settles with the bank for any difference in the rates, thereby "swapping" a variable rate for a fixed rate.

The valuation of Grace's fixed-rate natural gas swaps was determined using a market approach, based on natural gas futures trading prices quoted on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Commodity fixed-rate swaps with maturities of not more than 12 months are used and designated as cash flow hedges of forecasted purchases of natural gas. Current open contracts hedge forecasted transactions until March 2013. The effective portion of the gain or loss on the commodity contracts is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified into income in the same period or periods that the underlying commodity purchase affects income. At March 31, 2012, the contract volume, or notional amount, of the commodity contracts was 3.7 million MMBtu (million British thermal units) with a total contract value of $13.8 million.

The valuation of Grace's fixed-rate aluminum swaps was determined using a market approach, based on aluminum futures trading prices quoted on the London Metal Exchange. Commodity fixed-rate swaps with maturities of not more than 12 months are used and designated as cash flow hedges of forecasted purchases of aluminum. Current open contracts hedge forecasted transactions until March 2013. The effective portion of the gain or loss on the commodity contracts is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) and reclassified into income in the same period or periods that the underlying commodity purchase affects income. At March 31, 2012, the contract volume, or notional amount, of the commodity contracts was 3.0 million pounds with a total contract value of $3.1 million.

Because Grace does business in over 40 countries, results are exposed to fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Grace seeks to minimize exposure to these fluctuations by matching sales in volatile currencies with expenditures in the same currencies, but it is not always possible to do so. From time to time Grace will use financial instruments such as currency forward contracts, options, or combinations of the two to reduce the risk of certain specific transactions. However, Grace does not have a policy of hedging all exposures, because management does not believe that such a level of hedging would be cost-effective.

From time to time, Grace enters into currency exchange rate forward and/or option contracts to mitigate the effects of exchange rate fluctuations. The valuation of Grace's currency exchange rate forward contracts is determined using both a market approach and an income approach. Inputs used to value currency exchange rate forward contracts consist of: (1) spot rates, which are quoted by various financial institutions; (2) forward points, which are primarily affected by changes in interest rates; and (3) discount rates used to present value future cash flows, which are based on the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) curve.

In November 2007, Grace purchased currency forward contracts to mitigate the effect of currency risk with respect to intercompany loans between its principal U.S. subsidiary and a German subsidiary. As of March 31, 2012, the total notional amount related to the remaining outstanding currency forward contracts was €245.6 million. These derivatives are not designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815 "Derivatives and Hedging".

The following tables present the fair value hierarchy for financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:

	Fair Value Measurements at March 31, 2012 Using

Items Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (In millions)	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets or Liabilities (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Assets
Currency derivatives	$	12.4	$	—	$	12.4	$	—
Commodity derivatives		—		—		—		—

Total Assets	$	12.4	$	—	$	12.4	$	—

Liabilities
Currency derivatives	$	0.5	$	—	$	0.5	$	—
Commodity derivatives		4.5		—		4.5		—

Total Liabilities	$	5.0	$	—	$	5.0	$	—

	Fair Value Measurements at December 31, 2011 Using

Items Measured at Fair Value on a Recurring Basis (In millions)	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets or Liabilities (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Assets
Currency derivatives	$	20.4	$	—	$	20.4	$	—
Commodity derivatives		—		—		—		—

Total Assets	$	20.4	$	—	$	20.4	$	—

Liabilities
Currency derivatives	$	0.5	$	—	$	0.5	$	—
Commodity derivatives		3.8		—		3.8		—

Total Liabilities	$	4.3	$	—	$	4.3	$	—

The following tables present the location and fair values of derivative instruments included in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011:

	Asset Derivatives			Liability Derivatives

Fair Values of Derivative Instruments at March 31, 2012 (In millions)	Balance Sheet Location	Fair Value		Balance Sheet Location	Fair Value
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815:
Commodity contracts	Other current assets	$	—	Other current liabilities	$	4.5
Currency contracts	Other current assets		0.3	Other current liabilities		0.1
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815:
Currency contracts	Other current assets		6.3	Other current liabilities		0.4
Currency contracts	Other assets		5.8	Other liabilities		—

Total derivatives		$	12.4		$	5.0

	Asset Derivatives			Liability Derivatives

Fair Values of Derivative Instruments at December 31, 2011 (In millions)	Balance Sheet Location	Fair Value		Balance Sheet Location	Fair Value
Derivatives designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815:
Commodity contracts	Other current assets	$	—	Other current liabilities	$	3.8
Currency contracts	Other current assets		—	Other current liabilities		0.4
Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815:
Currency contracts	Other current assets		13.1	Other current liabilities		0.1
Currency contracts	Other assets		7.3	Other liabilities		—

Total derivatives		$	20.4		$	4.3

The following tables present the location and amount of gains and losses on derivative instruments included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations or, when applicable, gains and losses initially recognized in other comprehensive income (loss) ("OCI") for the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011:

The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Consolidated Statement of Operations for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2012 (In millions)	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized in OCI on Derivatives (Effective Portion)			Location of Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from Accumulated OCI into Income (Effective Portion)	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from Accumulated OCI into Income (Effective Portion)

Derivatives in ASC 815 cash flow hedging relationships:
Currency contracts	$	0.2		Cost of goods sold	$	(0.2	)
Commodity contracts		(2.8	)	Cost of goods sold		(2.2	)

Total derivatives	$	(2.6	)		$	(2.4	)

	Location of Gain or (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivatives	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivatives

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815:
Currency contracts	Other income (expense)	$	(8.9	)

The Effect of Derivative Instruments on the Consolidated Statement of Operations for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2011 (In millions)	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized in OCI on Derivatives (Effective Portion)		Location of Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from Accumulated OCI into Income (Effective Portion)	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Reclassified from Accumulated OCI into Income (Effective Portion)

Derivatives in ASC 815 cash flow hedging relationships:
Currency contracts	$	0.1	Cost of goods sold	$	—
Commodity contracts		0.1	Cost of goods sold		(0.9	)

Total derivatives	$	0.2		$	(0.9	)

	Location of Gain or (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivatives	Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized in Income on Derivatives

Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments under ASC 815:
Currency contracts	Other income (expense)	$	(16.5	)

Grace was not a party to any debt or interest rate swaps at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011.

Grace is exposed to credit risk in its trade accounts receivable. Customers in the petroleum refining and construction industries represent the greatest exposure. Grace's credit evaluation policies, relatively short collection terms and history of minimal credit losses mitigate credit risk exposures. Grace does not generally require collateral for its trade accounts receivable, but may require a bank letter of credit in certain instances, particularly when selling to customers in cash restricted countries.

Grace may also be exposed to credit risk in its derivatives contracts. Grace monitors counterparty credit risk and currently does not anticipate nonperformance by its derivatives counterparties. Grace's derivatives contracts are with internationally recognized commercial financial institutions.