The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday proposed a $140,000 civil penalty against K-Mart for allegedly violating U.S. Department of Transportation hazardous materials regulations.
The FAA alleges that K-Mart, a chain of discount department stores, offered two packages to UPS for transportation by air from Caguas in Puerto Rico to its returned goods center in McDonough, Georgia.
The first shipment, on September 21, 2009, contained 15 three-ounce containers of nail color, which is classified as paint, a flammable liquid. The second shipment, on October 26, 2009, contained 18 five-ounce containers of aerosol sun block, a flammable gas. Neither shipment was declared to contain hazardous materials.
The FAA said K-Mart allegedly offered the shipments for transportation by air when they were not packaged, marked, classed, described, labeled or in condition for shipment as required by regulations. UPS employees at the Louisville sort center discovered both packages to be leaking.
K-Mart has until the end of December to respond to the agency.