Hazardous materials on planes worry FAA
By Frank Cho
Advertiser Staff Writer
Dozens of local businesses and airlines operating in Hawai'i in the past decade regularly mishandled the shipping of potentially hazardous materials on passenger flights, endangering travelers' safety, according to an Advertiser review of federal safety records.
Advertiser library photo 8 July 13, 1999
From 1990 to August 2001, federal inspectors cited Hawai'i airlines and shippers 476 times for violating federal safety regulations on the handling of potentially hazardous materials on flights, according to data from the Federal Aviation Administration.
Guy Lewis, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida concluded that improperly marked oxygen generators sparked the fire that brought down a ValuJet flight in 1996, killing 110 people.
The violations resulted in 72 fines totaling more than three-quarters of a million dollars — 45 percent more than the total value of fines levied for nearly twice as many security violations over the same period. The average fine for mishandling hazardous material on Hawai'i flights was $10,200 — more than three times the average fine for a security violation, according to FAA enforcement data.
The hefty fines highlight the seriousness of what FAA officials say is a growing problem, and one that they consider potentially an even larger threat to passenger safety than terrorism.
"Potentially hazardous materials are of very grave concern to us," said Jerry Snyder, a spokesman for the FAA's western region. "The last U.S. hijacking before 9-11 was more than 10 years ago in 1991. So, that is not as great a threat as is the tons of material we have traveling in the air around the country."
The gravity of the situation came to the forefront in 1996 when the FAA, which oversees security and safety for the aviation industry, stepped up its inspections and penalties for mishandling hazardous materials on aircraft after improperly marked chemical-oxygen generators sparked a fire that brought down a ValuJet flight, killing 110 people.
Since 1997, federal regulators have collected more than $17 million in fines for mishandling of hazardous materials on passenger jets. The average fine — $4,000 in 1995 — has grown to more than $10,000 today.
"We had the aircraft in Florida go down and the light came on that hazardous material was just as dangerous as if we had a bomber on an airplane," said Allen Agor, FAA security manager at Honolulu airport.
Agor said the FAA hired 400 agents nationwide in the wake of the ValuJet crash to help enforce agency rules on the shipment of potentially hazardous materials, including everything from "flammables" such as nail polish, paint and cologne, to oxygen canisters and marine batteries. Regulations on shipping include proper marking and condition of materials, and limits on the amount that can be transported.
"Since (the ValuJet crash), the agency has had more focus on this, and we have had more bodies to go out and look for these kinds of violations and that is why the numbers of violations are going up," Agor said.
Improper markings cited
In Hawai'i, 72 hazardous materials violations resulted in fines in 2000, up from just a single violation in 1990, according to FAA records.
About 90 percent of all fines issued for hazardous materials violations in Hawai'i were because the materials were not properly marked and disclosed prior to shipment, according to FAA data.
Shippers are generally responsible for ensuring materials are properly packed and marked, but air carriers can also be fined if they fail to stop a blatant violation, aviation experts said.
Brian Suzuki, president of freight-forwarding company Hawaii Air Cargo, said shippers sometimes try to ship hazardous materials without disclosing their cargo. If they succeed, they avoid higher freight charges, increased processing fees and the cost of special packaging required by the FAA, he said.
Other incidents involve passengers unaware of the federal disclosure regulations. In February, for example, baggage handlers at Hawaiian Airlines found an undisclosed marine battery being shipped to the Big Island inside an ice chest. FAA officials said acid from the battery could have leaked and created a potential hazard. The battery's owner was fined $6,000.
Among Hawai'i's biggest fines in the past decade was $120,000 to Piedmont Labs Inc. for illegally sending hazardous material on a United Parcel Service flight, and $50,000 to Hsin Huey Enterprise Co. Ltd. for putting hazardous material on a China Airlines flight.
Other incidents have occurred on Qantas Airways, Air Canada, FedEx, UPS and Airborne Express flights, according to FAA records. Every major passenger carrier in Hawai'i has been found to have carried what the FAA calls "dangerous goods," but fines and citations usually were levied against the shippers in those cases, according to FAA records.
'A lot of fudging going on'
Hawai'i's two interisland carriers also have been cited. Between 1998 and 2000, Hawaiian Airlines was cited five times for a total $36,000.
"We take all of the regulations that we have to operate under seriously, especially when they involve passenger safety," said Keoni Wagner, spokesman for Hawaiian Airlines. "From the records, none of these cases posed a serious safety threat to passengers. They were more compliance to the letter."
Aloha was cited once during the same period for $6,000, according to the FAA data. Stu Glauberman, a spokesman for Aloha, declined to discuss specifics but said the airline hired a new manager for its hazardous materials effort following the incident. Glauberman said airlines are required to keep records on hazardous materials incidents for only one year. Because of that, he said Aloha has no records of past problems with the FAA regarding hazardous materials on its flights.
Several other carriers did not respond to requests for comment on their violation histories in Honolulu or how they handle hazardous materials aboard aircraft.
Suzuki said companies like his have tried to increase awareness among employees and customers about the federal regulations.
"We have checks and balances now and awareness training for everyone that comes into contact with the material," Suzuki said. "If anything, we have been made more aware that this is serious stuff and the FAA is not fooling around."
Ron Kuhlmann, an aviation consultant with Roberts Roach & Associates in Hayward, Calif., said it doesn't take ill will to inadvertently put something on a flight that could bring down an aircraft.
"You can put anything in the box and call it whatever you want, and I think there is a lot of fudging going on," Kuhlmann said. "I would have people worry about that more than having the guy in front of me taking off his shoes (to check for bombs)."
Reach Frank Cho at 525-8088, or at fcho@honoluluadvertiser.com.
