Bulk carrier fined for hazmat violation
Bulkmatic Transport Co., a large bulk motor carrier, plead guilty to felony charges of violating federal hazardous material transportation laws and was fined $400,000, under an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department.
Griffith, Ind.-based Bulkmatic was charged with failure to train an employee who was seriously injured while unloading hazardous material from a railcar at a transload facility in Chattanooga, Tenn., four years ago. The worker, who had received no training on handling hazardous materials, was not wearing a protective suit when a valve fitting on the tank car ruptured spraying him with sulfuric acid and releasing 1,805 gallons of the liquid.
Under the plea agreement, Bulkmatic will serve a three-year probation and implement a comprehensive employee training and certifying program.
Bulkmatic also paid a $27,500 civil penalty to the Federal Railway Administration for failing to train or supervise the employee and $44,750 to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for other regulatory violations, according to the Department of Transportation.