FAA proposes $350,000 fine against Amazon for hazardous shipment
WASHINGTON – The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a $350,000 fine Monday against Amazon.com for allegedly violating hazardous-materials regulations governing an air-shipment of cleanser with sulfuric acid.
The latest complaint focused on a shipment of a corrosive drain cleaner called “Amazing! LIQUID FIRE” on Oct. 15, 2014, that FAA alleged wasn’t properly packaged, accompanied by a required shipper’s declaration of dangerous goods or labeled properly.
As part of the enforcement, FAA said it has fined Amazon at least 22 other times in shipments from February 2013 through September 2015 for violating hazardous-materials regulations with air shipments. Those earlier fines totaled nearly $1.3 million, according to a list attached the latest complaint.
Kelly Cheeseman, an Amazon spokesperson, said the delivery company ships tens of millions of products daily and has developed sophisticated technologies to detect potential hazards. The company strives continuously to fix any defects in the process, Cheeseman said.
“We take the safety of our air cargo delivery partners seriously,” Cheeseman said. “We will continue to partner with the FAA in this area.”
The shipment that prompted the latest fine involved a one-gallon plastic bottle whose label with skull and crossbones warned that it “causes severe burns,” is "corrosive to eyes and skin” and is “harmful or fatal if swallowed,” according to the 11-page complaint from Glenn Brown of FAA’s enforcement division in Anchorage. The bottle was packed inside a fiberboard box, FAA said.
During the shipment from Louisville, Ky., to Boulder, Colo., the bottle began leaking through the fiberboard, according to FAA.
Nine United Parcel Service workers came into contact with the box after the leak and “reported feeling a burning sensation and needed to be assisted to a chemical wash,” the FAA said.
But FAA alleged that the Amazon shipment didn’t contain a declaration for dangerous goods, a shipping description of each hazardous material involved or labeling to warn about the hazard.
Amazon workers allegedly weren’t trained to load or handle hazardous materials, and the shipment wasn’t fitted with a leak-proof container or packaged with enough absorbent material, according to FAA.
Amazon has 30 days to formally reply to FAA’s allegations and potentially challenge the fine.
The incident followed a series of other fines ranging from $30,000 to $91,000 each against Amazon for offering hazardous materials air shipment without proper labeling and that often leaked. Those earlier incidents included:
• three $91,000 fines – from deliveries Jan. 18, 2013; July 31, 2013; and Sept. 16, 2013 – after offering a flammable aerosol or flammable liquids without disclosing them to UPS and Federal Express. In each case, the materials leaked during shipment.
• an $81,690 fine from a delivery Sept. 10, 2012, for a flammable liquid that wasn’t disclosed to FedEx and leaked.
• two $78,000 fines from deliveries Aug. 1, 2013 and Sept. 17, 2013 for flammable and corrosive liquids offered to UPS without disclosure.
FAA can impose $75,000 in civil penalties for each violation of hazardous-materials regulations and up to $175,000 for severe injury, illness, death or property damage.
