D & M Custom Injection Molding Corp. of Burlington, Ill gave a five-piece shipment of approximately 2,000 smokeless cigarettes to Federal Express, for transportation by air, from Indianapolis to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Aug. 14, 2009. Each smokeless cigarette contained alcohol — a flammable liquid, and a lithium battery — a hazardous material. The Federal Aviation Administration is proposing a $168,000 civil penalty against the company for alleged violations of DOT Hazardous Materials regulations. Each box contained 400 E-Mysticks, including 7.6 kilograms of lithium batteries, exceeding the five-kilogram limit for shipment aboard passenger aircraft. Because the shipment was not packaged in accordance with regulations, it is forbidden on all aircraft, including all-cargo flights. As the flight approached Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, the FedEx flight crew received a fire warning on the instrument panel. The crew discharged the fire suppression system during the landing and taxied to the gate. The airport fire department responded and extinguished a fire in an LD3 cargo container. The fire was started by the lithium batteries in the shipment. DOT continues to monitor lithium battery shipments as a high priority dangerous goods concern. In this case, FAA is also indicating their concern with this substantial fine. Shippers — be aware that lithium battery shipments are regulated and must comply with the dangerous goods requirements.
July 14th, 2010 11:12 am by Howard Skolnik —
Filed under: DOT/UN, HazMat, Safety
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Anyone that has ever watched a movie with me has heard me state that “just about every movie made has a shot of a steel drum somewhere in the film.” It’s surprisingly true! Ask my children! Now, thanks to Rick Rubin of Maxi Container, I recently learned that UN approved steel drums are being used to transport 75 reels of historic and long-lost silent movies to the US for restoration. The films were discovered in a vault in the New Zealand Film Archive and include a drama by legendary director John Ford, a copy of Ford’s Upstream the earliest surviving movie by comic actor and director Mabel Normand and a period drama starring 1920s screen icon Clara Bow. The films were discovered by American preservationist Brian Meacham who claims that many of the films remained in New Zealand because distributors at the time did not think the return shipping costs to the US were worth the expense.
Because these films were printed on unstable and highly flammable nitrate film stock, the transport to the US will require them to be shipped as dangerous goods, probably Flammable Solids N.O.S., Hazard Class 4.1, Packing Group II, which, for an air shipment, authorizes they be shipped in UN approved steel drums. As demonstrated in the film Inglorious Bastards, these nitrate films are highly flammable.
July 13th, 2010 1:53 pm by Howard Skolnik —
Filed under: Cool Stuff, DOT/UN, Safety
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We were excited to see Helen Turley of Marcassin Vineyard gracing the cover of this month’s copy of Wine Spectator Magazine. Helen Turley is one of the most influential woman wine makers in the world today and we are proud to say that her Marcassin Vineyard was one of the first wineries to purchase a Skolnik stainless steel wine barrel. Turley’s reputation in the wine world is only preceded by her amazing wines, cabernets, chardonnays, zinfandels and pinot noirs. Known as a perfectionist, we like the fact that Helen is not only involved in the wine making process, but also deeply involved in the vineyard as well, terrior being just as important proper aging. During her 30 plus year career, Turley has worked for several wineries that Skolnik also proudly calls our customers; Bryant Family Vineyard, BR Cohn, Blankiet and Pahlmeyer Winery. It is reported that Turley and her husband John are working on a book, with a working title of Marcassin: The Making of a Winemaker. We look forward to buying our own copy and reading more about this amazing wine maker. In addition, you can click here to see the complete line of stainless steel wine drums produced by SKOLNIK or visit our web site at www.skolnikwine.com.
July 13th, 2010 11:00 am by Dean Ricker —
Filed under: Wine
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