In the latest example of how the U.S. Congress and federal officials have lost control of our borders, the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration, aka FAA, is proposing a $227,500 civil penalty against Shanghai Yancui Import and Export Company of Shanghai, China, for “allegedly violating Hazardous Materials regulations.”
The FAA says that on 16 July 2013, yes – that’s more than one year ago, the company shipped a package containing a bottle of Titanium Tetrachloride on a DHL Express cargo flight.
At least it was not Ebola. Nonetheless, workers at a DHL sorting facility in Erlanger, Kentucky discovered the bottle emitting smoke. Why it took the FAA this long to act is also an indictment of the continuing failure of federal agencies to do their job. It appears that the FAA has few attorneys working on a high volume of cases caused by corporate scofflaws.
Titanium Tetrachloride is a poisonous, highly corrosive material. Therefore, Hazardous Materials regulations prohibit shipping it on an aircraft. (Duh.) The package also contained two bottles of Benzodioxole, which is a hazardous flammable liquid. (Swell.)
Shanghai Yancui, it’s said and we’re betting can be proven in court, did not label or pack the shipment in accordance with Hazardous Materials regulations. Moreover, the package was not sent with shipping papers indicating the hazardous contents or any emergency response information. The FAA also alleges, belatedly, that Shanghai Yancui did not provide required hazardous materials training for its employees.
The case is now pending. Maybe the FAA is waiting for protocols from the CDC?
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
