FAA Proposes $78,000 Civil Penalty Against Amazon Fulfillment Services

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                            

Date:   February 6, 2014     

FAA Proposes $78,000 Civil Penalty Against Amazon Fulfillment Services

FORT WORTH, Texas – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $78,000 civil penalty against Amazon Fulfillment Services of North Las Vegas, Nev., for allegedly violating U.S. Department of Transportation Hazardous Materials Regulations.

The FAA alleges that on August 29, 2013, Amazon Fulfillment Services shipped a quart of high gloss enamel paint on a FedEx Corp. aircraft from Lexington, Ky., to Corpus Christi, Texas, where workers discovered that leaking paint had soaked through the shipping box. Paint is considered to be a Hazard Class 3 Flammable Liquid.

Investigators determined the shipment was not accompanied by shipping papers to indicate the hazardous nature of its contents and it was not marked, labeled or packed in accordance with the Hazardous Materials Regulations. The box also contained no hazardous material inner packing, such as inserts or absorbent materials. Finally, the package failed to protect against a release of hazardous material into the environment under normal transportation conditions.

Amazon Fulfillment Services has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA's enforcement letter to respond to the agency.