News Release
T – 15 – 14
Miriam Barcellona Ingenito, Acting Director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 26, 2014
Contact: Jorge Moreno
(916) 327-4383
Jorge.Moreno@dtsc.ca.gov
DTSC files complaint against FedEx Ground:
Company allegedly mishandled hazardous materials shipped in California
SACRAMENTO – The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) filed a civil complaint against FedEx Ground Package System, Inc. (FedEx Ground) in Sacramento County Superior Court alleging more than 1,500 instances that resulted in multiple violations of California’s hazardous waste control laws.
The complaint alleges that since at least November 2008, FedEx Ground failed to properly manage as hazardous waste broken or leaking packages that contained hazardous materials, such as acids, solvents, insecticides, batteries and other flammable, toxic, or corrosive materials.
DTSC alleges that in more than 1,500 instances, FedEx Ground unlawfully transported hazardous waste packages to FedEx Ground hub facilities that were not authorized to accept hazardous waste. The complaint also alleges that at its three California hubs (one each in Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties), FedEx Ground unlawfully received and stored hazardous waste. FedEx Ground is alleged to have transported hazardous waste without hazardous waste transporter registration and without use of a hazardous waste manifest. At its thirty-one California terminals, FedEx Ground is alleged to have failed to make hazardous waste determinations, failed to obtain required identification numbers, failed to fill out hazardous waste manifests, failed to send the hazardous waste packages to authorized facilities and failed to properly label the hazardous waste packages.
“Over a period of several years, FedEx Ground failed to make hazardous waste determinations at its terminals and failed to manage these materials as required by California’s hazardous waste laws,” said Paul Kewin, head of DTSC’s Enforcement and Emergency Response Division. “These violations undermine DTSC’s goal of protecting Californians from toxic harm.”
The violations, if proven, subject FedEx Ground to civil penalties of up to $25,000 for each separate violation.
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FOR GENERAL INQUIRIES: Contact the Department of Toxic Substances Control by phone at (800) 728-6942 or visit www.dtsc.ca.gov. To report illegal handling, discharge, or disposal of hazardous waste, call the Waste Alert Hotline at (800) 698-6942.
The mission of DTSC is to protect California’s people and environment from harmful effects of toxic substances by restoring contaminated properties, enforcing hazardous waste law, reducing hazardous waste generation, and encouraging the manufacture of chemically safer products.