Altor guide · 2026-09-21

Six real hazmat fines and the PHMSA penalty for wrong shipping papers behind them

The carton is still on the dock, or it is already on a sort belt. Someone searches PHMSA penalty wrong shipping papers because an FAA newsroom release named a company, or because a discrepancy note cited the description. The six cases below are public proposed civil penalties.

What the regulation actually requires

The Hazardous Materials Regulations sit in 49 CFR parts 171 to 180. PHMSA writes those rules. FAA proposes the civil penalties when the offer is by air. A highway file uses the same shipping paper cells.

49 CFR 171.2(e) forbids offering or accepting a hazardous material unless it is properly classed, described, packaged, marked, labeled, and in condition for shipment. 49 CFR 172.200 requires the offeror to describe the material on a shipping paper. 49 CFR 172.202 is the basic description: identification number, proper shipping name, class or division, packing group when one is assigned, then quantity and the number and type of packages, in that sequence. 49 CFR 172.204 is the shipper's certification. 49 CFR 173.22 keeps classification, description, packaging, marks, and labels on the person who offers the material.

Emergency response rides with the paper. 49 CFR 172.602 is the information that has to be available away from the package. 49 CFR 172.604 is the 24 hour emergency telephone number.

For air, IATA DGR 8.1 is the Shipper's Declaration, IATA DGR 8.1.6 is the completion standard, and IATA DGR 8.1.6.12 is the certification block. 49 CFR 175.30 is US air acceptance. IATA DGR 9.1.3 is the walk.

49 CFR 107.329, current as of 17 Sep 2026, sets a maximum civil penalty of $102,348 per violation, $238,809 when death, serious illness, severe injury, or substantial destruction of property results, and a $617 minimum for training violations.

A worked description from the current ICAO TI Table 3-1 extract. UN 1090 Acetone is Class 3, packing group II. Passenger packing instruction 353 at 5 L, limited quantity Y341 at 1 L. Cargo packing instruction 364 at 60 L. A passenger booking that writes packing group III, packing instruction 355, and 10 L is already a 172.202 miss before anyone looks at the drum.

What a PHMSA penalty for wrong shipping papers actually cites

World Event Promotions of Coral Gables, Florida. FAA proposed $260,000 on March 31, 2026. Three shipments of battery packs containing lithium ion batteries offered to UPS for air. One was smoking at the UPS sort in Ontario, California, with a burn hole in the package. The agency alleges no required shipping paperwork, no proper class or description, state of charge above 30 percent, and no emergency response information. UN 3480 spare cells are passenger forbidden, packing instruction 965: https://altor.consulting/lithium-2026.html.

Mobile Sentrix of Manassas, Virginia. FAA proposed $170,000 on September 5, 2025. Four undeclared FedEx air offers of mobile phone lithium ion batteries in 2024. On August 8 the package was emitting smoke, a fire had occurred, and three batteries had melted together. None of the four were properly classed, described, packaged, marked, labeled, or in proper condition.

Mokwheel Bikes of Ontario, California. FAA proposed $74,250 on September 5, 2025. On December 26, 2023 the company offered an undeclared lithium ion battery shipment to UPS for air from Ontario to Shenzhen. UPS found it in Anchorage. The agency alleges no declaration, no proper class or description, no packaging to prevent sparks or a dangerous evolution of heat, no required training, and no emergency response information on the papers.

LG Energy Solution of Seoul. FAA proposed $60,000 on September 5, 2025. On January 4, 2024, five lithium ion batteries, undeclared, improperly packaged and labeled, Seoul to Los Angeles. FedEx in Irvine found heat, smoke, ember, and flames. One or more batteries were charred and melted.

Verizon Communications. FAA proposed $70,500 on March 31, 2026. In May 2024, three air offers to FedEx of between 2,000 and 3,000 cell phones containing lithium ion batteries. Not properly classed or described. No required emergency response information.

Devinaire Industries of Hillsboro, Oregon. FAA proposed $97,750 on March 31, 2026. This one is an operator file. On two flights in January 2025 the company accepted radiopharmaceuticals. The shipping papers did not include the physical and chemical form of the radioactive material, which 49 CFR 172.203(d)(2) requires on a Class 7 description. The agency also alleges untrained acceptance employees and a failure to keep the shipping papers and the information provided to the pilots for the required time. 49 CFR 175.33 keeps the operator's copy for one year and the pilot information for 90 days.

Ontario and Irvine sit in that same Southern California geography: https://altor.consulting/hazmat-consultant-los-angeles.html.

The mistake people make

They treat Section 14 of the SDS as the shipping paper. The acceptance desk does not accept a safety data sheet. They leave the carton undeclared because it is phones, or an e-bike, or spare packs that flew last quarter. 49 CFR 171.2(e) does not grade the product name. They copy last quarter's description onto this booking, skip the 172.604 number, and sign 172.204 without walking the carton. They treat a cargo-terminal bounce as the whole consequence. The newsroom file is a separate path.

How to fix it

Rebuild the line from a blank. Open 49 CFR 172.101 and IATA DGR Section 4.2. Write identification number, proper shipping name, class, packing group when assigned, quantity, and package type in 172.202 order. Add the 172.203 extras that apply. Put emergency response information with the paper, and a monitored 172.604 number on it.

Train the people who offer, under 49 CFR 172.704. Walk the paper against the box in IATA DGR 9.1.3 order. Then sign under 49 CFR 172.204 and IATA DGR 8.1.6.12. Keep the copy for two years under 172.201(e).

Do not tender a guess.

Altor pre-checks completed Dangerous Goods Declarations line by line against the current regulations and returns a written report, with every finding cited, within one business day. You keep the pen. altor.consulting

Catch the rejection before the carrier does

Send your completed declaration before you tender it. A line by line advisory report comes back within 24 hours, every finding cited. $95 flat, one click, and you keep the pen.

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