A Learning Experience William VanSchalkwyk, MIT

MIT EHS Office 12/4/ An MIT Learning Experience Prototype equipment with lithium batteries Was to be shipped by air; Not properly packaged or labeled;

MIT EHS Office 12/4/ Incident August, 2009 Fed-Ex Transfer Station, Medford, MA Package catches fire on conveyer system Responding Agencies: Fed-Ex Responders Medford Fire Hazmat Unit Medford Police Medford BOH MIT Police FBI Channels 7, 25, and other Media on- scene FAA Notified

MIT EHS Office 12/4/ Consequences FAA Enforcement: FAA and MIT agree that safe and compliant air- shipping is our common goal. FAA Penalty: $125,000 MIT hosting Outreach (Today)

MIT EHS Office 12/4/ Incident Take-Aways Dangerous Goods can originate for shipment from non-lab settings at the Institute; Extra safeguards should be in place due to the high potential consequences of an incident like this one; There are many other entities beyond MIT that could be susceptible to a similar incident; All of us should be highly aware of these situations; A learning organization applies lessons.