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FAA fines 4 shippers for hazmat violations

The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed civil penalties ranging from $54,000 to $63,000 against four companies for allegedly violating the country’s hazardous materials transport regulations.

   The U.S. Transportation Department’s Federal Aviation Administration has proposed civil penalties ranging from $54,000 to $63,000 against four companies for allegedly violating the country’s hazardous materials transport regulations.
   Specifically, the agency has proposed a $63,000 fine against Sherwin-Williams Co. of Clevelend, which on Oct. 15 allegedly offered an improperly marked and documented shipment of 10 cans of flammable paint for transport aboard a FedEx flight from Piqua, Ohio, to Niagara Falls, N.Y. FedEx employees at the company’s sorting facility in Indianapolis discovered that the shipment was leaking.
   On March 9, the FAA said X-Chem of Irving, Texas, offered a shipment of six bottles of hazardous materials, including five bottles of flammable liquids and one bottle of corrosive material, to FedEx for transport by air from Midland, Texas to Irving, Texas. The FAA imposed a $54,000 fine.
   Rock Water Energy Solutions of Houston on June 20, 2014 allegedly offered a shipment containing five 17-ounce spray cans of flammable aerosol paint in checked baggage aboard an Envoy Airlines passenger flight from Denver to Midland, Texas. The spray cans released paint in the cargo hold of the plane. The company was issued a $63,000 fine from the FAA.
   In addition, the agency alleged that on Nov. 20, 2014, Wakeman, Ohio-based Buschur Racing offered 10 10-ounce cans of flammable aerosol spray to UPS for shipment by air from Ohio to Quebec, Canada. UPS employees at the company’s Milan, Ohio sort facility discovered the hazardous materials. The FAA has issued a $58,350 penalty against Buschur Racing.

Chris Gillis

Located in the Washington, D.C. area, Chris Gillis primarily reports on regulatory and legislative topics that impact cross-border trade. He joined American Shipper in 1994, shortly after graduating from Mount St. Mary’s College in Emmitsburg, Md., with a degree in international business and economics.