FAA keeps Amazon in crosshairs for hazmat violations

The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday proposed two separate civil penalties against Amazon in the combined amount of $130,000 for alleged violations of federal hazardous materials regulations.    The U.S. Transportation Department’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Wednesday proposed two separate civil penalties against Amazon.com, Inc. in the combined amount of $130,000 for alleged violations of federal hazardous materials regulations.
   The FAA alleged that on May 24, 2014, Amazon offered FedEx two cardboard boxes containing corrosive rust stain preventer for air transportation from Plainfield, Ill. to Davenport, Fla.
   One of the packages contained four one-gallon plastic jugs of Rid O’ Rust Stain Preventer Acid Well Water Formula, while the other held two one-gallon jugs of the formula. Workers at FedEx’s sorting facility in Lake Wales, Fla., discovered one of the containers had leaked through the cardboard box.
   The FAA alleged the package was not properly marked, labeled, packaged or accompanied by shipping papers indicating the amount, type and hazardous nature of the material inside. The FAA also alleged Amazon did not provide required emergency response information with the shipment. 
   A $78,000 civil penalty was issued for the violation.
   In addition, on June 2, 2014, the FAA said Amazon offered UPS an improperly marked cardboard box containing a flammable gas for air transport from Whitestown, Ind., to Glendale, Calif. The package held a 19-ounce container of Simple Air EZ Green HVAC Cleaner.
   The FAA said workers in UPS’s Louisville, Ky., sort facility discovered the container.
   The air transport hazmat violation resulted in a $52,000 civil penalty.
   Last week, the FAA issued a civil penalty of $350,000 against Amazon for other hazmat violations, stating the online retailer “has a history of violating the hazardous materials regulations.” The agency said it’s continuing to investigate Amazon’s compliance with air cargo hazmat regulations.