FAA fines Amazon for alleged shipping violation

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is fining Amazon’s fulfillment center for allegedly violating its regulations for shipping hazardous materials, the agency announced on Friday.

The FAA is issuing a $78,000 fine to Amazon for failing to properly identify a package of gloss enamel paint that was shipped on a FedEx airplane in August 2013.

{mosads}The agency said the paint was discovered by FedEx workers who found it leaking through its packaging, which was sent from Amazon’s North Las Vegas fulfillment center. 

Amazon should have labeled the paint as a “Hazard Class 3 Flammable Liquid,” the FAA said.

“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 FAA said in a press release about the Amazon fine.

“The box also contained no hazardous material inner packing, such as inserts or absorbent materials,” the FAA release continued. “Finally, the package failed to protect against a release of hazardous material into the environment under normal transportation conditions.”