FAA PROPOSES HAZMAT PENALTIES AGAINST SIX COMPANIES
July 31, 2015
The FAA recently proposed civil penalties ranging from $70,050 to $81,669 against six companies for allegedly violating the Hazardous Materials Regulations (HMR). In each case, the FAA alleged certain shipments were not accompanied by shipping papers to indicate the hazardous nature of their contents and were improperly marked, labeled or packed. The FAA further alleged that the affected companies failed to provide emergency response information and ensure their employees had received required training in packaging and shipping hazardous materials.
- $81,669 against DGI Menard Inc. for offering for shipment aboard a FedEx aircraft undeclared hazardous materials. The shipment included eight cans of Lubemaster’s Fire up, a flammable liquid, and six bottles of Diesel Mate All Seasons, a flammable petroleum distillate.
- $71,500 against Sherwin-Williams for offering undeclared hazardous material shipments for transport on two separate FedEx flights. Each shipment contained two gallons of HP Primer, two gallons of Epoxy Primer, two quarts of catalyst for the Epoxy Primer and two gallons of paint. The catalyst is corrosive and flammable. The FAA also alleges the shipments exceeded the allowable quantity for air transportation.
- $70,050 against the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The FAA alleges that a university official offered an undeclared hazardous material shipment on a Delta passenger flight. The shipment, which contained 1.89 liters of ethyl alcohol, which is highly flammable, and 120 milliliters of Epofix hardener, a corrosive material, was in the passenger’s checked baggage.
- $70,000 against Home Depot for offering nine cans of flammable aerosol spray paint to UPS for transportation by air.
- $63,000 against CTC Battery for offering an undeclared shipment of four rechargeable lithium ion phosphate batteries to UPS for shipment.
- $58,600 against FedEx Corp. for accepting a box containing 1.7 liters of flammable liquid for air transportation. The box did not list the proper shipping name of the hazardous materials. The FAA also alleges the company later accepted a hazardous material shipment where the shipping papers incorrectly listed the amount of the shipment. The FAA further alleges that FedEx did not provide the pilots-in-command with accurate information about the amount of hazardous materials on several flights in 2014. Those shipments contained radioactive and flammable materials.
- $54,000 against Aqua-Chem, Inc. for offering UPS an undeclared shipment containing six plastic containers of corrosive phosphoric acid solution.
- $54,000 against Rust-Oleum Corp. for offering four containers of spray paint for shipment aboard a FedEx aircraft.
If you have any questions, please contact Evelyn Sahr (esahr@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6622) or Drew Derco (dderco@eckertseamans.com, 202-659-6665).