Violations Research and Special Programs Administrator Kelley S. Coyner today announced that a New York explosives manufacturer has agreed to pay a civil penalty for violating federal hazardous materials transportation law. As a result of the explosion, the incinerator suffered significant damage. The evidence shows that these drums contained primary and high explosive materials, and were not correctly classed as containing primary and high explosives, which are class 1 materials. As a result, the drums were improperly described on the hazardous waste manifest and were not properly marked or labeled. The class 1 material was incorrectly classified on the shipping documents.
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Coyner said that class 1 materials have specific attendance, safety, security, and vehicle routing requirements. As the result of a shipper's failure to properly describe a class 1 material, a carrier unknowingly might travel over bridges and through tunnels and densely populated areas that would be forbidden to a vehicle transporting class 1 materials. Furthermore, there is a significant difference in the emergency response requirements for class 1 materials. In addition, certain class 1 materials may not be transported in the same package or on the same transport vehicle as other class 1 materials. In this case, Dyno Nobel transported two different category class 1 materials in the same drum.