IG says agency should verify compliance with covert tests, speed up enforcement

The Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Transportation has issued a new report on Friday, entitled "Report on New Approaches Needed in Managing FAA’s Hazardous Materials Program." In this report, the IG states that it believes the FAA is not doing enough to make sure airlines are following the rule of the law when it comes to shipment of hazardous materials.

Hazmat rules enforcements jumped to the forefront of the nation's priorities after the 1996 ValuJet crash in the Florida Evergaldes in which 110 people lost their lives, and which was blamed on a fire caused by an illegal shipment of oxygen generators.

The IG's report says that, since then, "the FAA's enforcement of hazmat regulations has been in flux." The report takes aim at the agency's handling of paperwork review without conducting covert tests to ensure that the shippers and air carriers are in fact following the rule of law that regulates these shipments. In addition, the IG has also concluded that the agency simply takes too long to follow through on enforcement actions related to hazmat cases.

In response to the conclusions of the report, FAA spokesperson Diane Spitalieri said that the FAA has already taken action to deal with the problems that the IG's office refers to in the report. In additional to streamlining the enforcement on hazmat cases, the agency is also working closely with air cargo carriers to get to them to voluntarily report hazmat violations.

FMI: www.oig.dot.gov/item_details.php?item=1447