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Two companies in Australia were forced to cough up a total of $32,000 after the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) discovered several violations in transportation of dangerous goods. A driver was also fined $4,000.
Trojan Fiberglass and G&N Costello Freight Lines were both penalized by the EPA Department of New South Wales after a routine inspection in Newcastle, specifically in Kooragang, on February 25, 2015.
According to a report on the EPA website, G&N Costello acted as a prime contractor while Trojan Fiberglass was the consignor. At the time of the inspection, the EPA had found a number of serious violations based on the rules of transportation of dangerous goods.
One of these is that the vehicle didn’t have a proper placard based on the contents of the vehicle, which were a flammable liquid (class 3) and organic peroxide (class 5.2). Further, these items didn’t have the proper labels and weren’t organized properly.
There was issue with the truck as well since it didn’t possess a license to transport bulk dangerous goods. It also didn’t have the proper safety measures, including a lack of PPE (personal protective equipment). The driver, on the other hand, didn’t have the exact license for dangerous goods transport.
In the end, both the contractor and the consignor received penalty offices amounting to $14,000 each. The EPA particularly fined Trojan for failing to train and supervise the driver while transporting the goods. The driver, meanwhile, had to pay $4,000. For the other offenses, EPA issues official cautions.
The EPA reiterated its call to those involved in the industry to follow the dangerous goods laws to significantly reduce the risks of harm to the environment, public, and the industry as well.
See the EPA Compliance Policy here: http://www.epa.nsw.gov.au/legislation/prosguid.htm.