Whether intentional, or due to ignorance of the CFR requirements for shipping a highly dangerous substance, a private manufacturing company was hit hard for putting at risk the personnel and property of UPS as well as potentially causing an air disaster. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $227,500 civil penalty against Dover Chemical Corporation of Dover, Ohio, for alleged violations of federal hazardous materials regulations. FAA alleged Dover offered sulfur monochloride, a hazardous material, to United Parcel Service for transportation by air from Hammond, Indiana, to Dover, Ohio, June 15, 2010. The hazardous materials regulations prohibit carriage of sulfur monochloride aboard any type of aircraft. The chemical’s vapors are poisonous if they are inhaled. Dover allegedly offered the material when it was not packaged, marked, classed, described, labeled, or in condition for shipment as required by regulations. UPS workers at the carrier’s sorting hub in Louisville discovered the shipment because it had leaked. According to its web site, Dover is a producer of chlorinated paraffins, polymer additives, liquid and solid antioxidants (including organophosphites), flame retardants, and additives for water-based and oil-based metalworking fluids. Dover has 30 days from receipt of FAA’s enforcement letter to respond to the agency.
HazMat Industry News