The Federal Aviation Administration proposed a $78,000 fine against Amazon for allegedly shipping hazardous materials by aircraft, reports The Wall Street Journal.
In August 2015, FedEx employees discovered a leaking package that contained two bottles of a flammable, ethanol-based hair tonic at a sorting facility in Cary, Ill., according to the FAA.
The package, which was flown from Florida to Illinois, was not properly marked to show it contained a hazardous material and its shipping papers did not provide required information like emergency response protocols, the FAA alleges.
The FAA proposed three other penalties — for $350,000, $78,000 and $52,000 —against the online retail giant in June for similar violations, according to the report.
Brandon Fried, executive director of the Airforwarders Association, said the proposed fines show the difficulty of training workers and scaling up operations to independently manage such a large amount of products.
A spokeswoman for Amazon said in a statement that the company "developed sophisticated technologies to detect potential shipping hazards and use any defects as an opportunity for continuous improvement."
More articles on supply chain:
GSK names Brian McNamara CEO of Consumer Healthcare: 3 points
WSJ poll: How confident are you in your supply chain?
Mylan's rebate grace period for EpiPens raises questions