Summary

MGC Trading Corporation, Miami, FL, agreed to plead guilty in a one-count information filed in U.S. District Court in Miami, charging the firm with willful delivery of unlabeled hazardous chemicals that were flammable, corrosive, and poisonous. The chemicals consisted of liquid n-propanol, ammonium hydroxide, benzidine, alpha-methylamine, trichlorethanem, cloroplantic acid, and carbon tetrachloride. MGC sells laboratory and medical supplies, including chemicals used in medical laboratory work, to hospitals and medical clinics in Latin America. In June 2002, MGC through a freight forwarder offered nine separate packages to Lan Chile, a foreign air carrier, for air transportation to Peru. The packages were described in the air bill as general laboratory supplies. During handling at Lan Chile, one of the packages broke open, exposing its hazardous contents. Many of the bottles inside the box had hazmat labels affixed.