Company Allegedly Violated Hazardous Materials Regulations

The FAA is proposing a $168,000 civil penalty against MedStar Health, Inc., of Columbia, MD for allegedly violating Hazardous Materials Regulations.

The FAA alleges that on Dec. 6, 2012, MedStar Health offered a cardboard box containing 180 lithium-ion batteries to FedEx Corp. for shipment by air from Calverton, MD, to El Paso, TX. The batteries were placed in a plastic bag in a manner that failed to prevent possible short-circuiting.
 
The FAA alleges that MedStar did not declare the hazardous materials, and the shipment was not properly classed, described, packaged, marked or labeled. The FAA further alleges MedStar failed to take proper precautions to ensure the batteries did not short-circuit during shipment, and did not label the package as being suitable for transport by cargo aircraft only. MedStar also provided no emergency response information with the package, and did not ensure its employees had received the required training for shipping hazardous materials.
 
MedStar Health has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s Proposed Civil Penalty letter to respond to the agency.

FMI: www.faa.gov