Docket No. HM 24-248

INITIAL DECISION

Respondent Cheryl Gorder shipped prohibited items through the United States Postal Service. Respondent was served with the Complaint by certified and regular mail on May 1, 2024. Subsequent pleadings were served on Respondent by certified and first-class mail. Respondent did not participate in this proceeding. Multiple attempts to reach Respondent were unsuccessful. Respondent did not file any pleadings or otherwise appear in the proceeding when invited to do so.
Pursuant to 39 C.F.R. § 958.12(d), I hereby find Respondent in DEFAULT in this matter. In so doing, I issue this Initial Decision in favor of the Postal Service.

FINDINGS OF FACT

1. On May 12, 2023, a USPS Priority Mail Package bearing tracking number 9005 5082 0549 6755 7556 81 (“the parcel”) was placed into the mail stream in Mesa, AZ (Complaint, ¶ 1; Complainant’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, ¶ 1).¹
2. On May 15, 2023, the parcel was discovered to be leaking by USPS employees at the Lake, MI Post Office. Investigation determined the cause of the leak was a parcel containing antique blood pressure cuffs filled with a total of ¾ pounds of metallic mercury. (Complaint, ¶ 6; Complainant’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, ¶ 2).
3. The postal facility, as well as two acceptance and delivery units, were required to suspend operations for 8 days. During that time, the community was without access to its Post Office. Customers could not access their mail and had to travel extended distances to conduct postal business. (Complaint, ¶ 6; Complainant’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, ¶ 3.)
4. Metallic mercury is a highly toxic and dangerous substance. In addition to disrupting postal operations and damaging USPS equipment, the leak put the health and welfare of postal employees in jeopardy. (Affidavit of Gerald Gales).
5. An extensive and expensive clean-up effort was undertaken by the Postal Service to reopen the facility. The cost to the Postal Service was $1,951,921.50. (Status Update and Evidence of Damages, ¶ 1 and corresponding exhibits; Complainant’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, ¶ 5; see also Affidavit of Erik Speelmans, ¶ 6).
6. Per USPS policy, when presenting a parcel for mailing, the sender is asked if the parcel contains anything fragile, liquid, perishable, or potentially hazardous, such as lithium batteries, perfume, mercury, or aerosols (“counterline question”)(USPS Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted and Perishable Mail (Publication 52), § 251).
7. The counterline question is asked to establish the fact that it is the mailer’s responsibility to know whether they are shipping anything hazardous. If the mailer knows what they are mailing is hazardous, or even suspected of being hazardous, they must communicate this fact to USPS personnel. (Id.)
8. The metallic mercury was mailed by an eBay seller, identified by the username “mike4jewelry” (Complaint, ¶ 4).
9. Through investigation by Postal Inspector Ryan Davidson, it was discovered that Cheryl Gorder was the owner and operator of the eBay storefront that sold the blood pressure cuffs (Affidavit of Postal Inspector Ryan Davidson, ¶ 9).
10. Ms. Gorder attempted to conceal her identity by operating an eBay storefront under the name of her ex-husband, Michael Root, without his knowledge or consent. Ms. Gorder lied to postal inspectors about this fact, before later admitting to mailing the parcel containing the blood pressure cuffs. (Id. at ¶¶ 9 – 12).
11. On October 2, 2023, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) mailed Ms. Gorder a Demand Letter regarding this incident requiring payment for damages resulting from the May 12, 2023, mailing of prohibited hazardous materials (Complaint, ¶ 7).
12. Between May 15, 2023, and May 25, 2023, postal operations were suspended at one processing facility and two acceptance and delivery units. Personnel and operations were relocated to other processing facilities, some out of state. Customers could not access their mail or packages and had to travel extended distances to conduct their postal business. The Postal Service incurred the following associated costs:

Description	Associated Costs
Clean up Contractor Expense	$1,450,274.002
Lakeshores Logistics (USPS)	$336,693.54
Lakeshores Processing (USPS)	$149,499.00
Septic	$200.00
Isabella Fire Department – 1st Responder	$3,136.00
Garfield Fire Department – 1st Responder	$9,900.00
Mobile Medical Response – 1st Responder	$771.00
Personal Property – contaminated	$1,447.96
Total documented expense	$1,951,921.50

(Complainant’s Status Update and Evidence of Damages and corresponding exhibits; Complainant’s Proposed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, ¶ 5).

13. Respondent did not participate in the litigation but was properly served.

DISCUSSION

The undisputed facts establish that Respondent violated Postal Service regulations.³ On May 12, 2023, Respondent placed into the mail stream parcels containing antique blood pressure cuffs filled with a total of ¾ pounds of metallic mercury. On May 15, 2023, the parcel was discovered to be leaking by USPS employees at the Lake, MI Post Office. She ignored Postal Service warnings about mailing prohibited materials and lied when confronted about her behavior. Respondent chose to engage in an unlawful practice that placed Postal Service employees and equipment at risk. Respondent’s behavior in doing so was reckless.
Metallic mercury is strictly prohibited in all classes of domestic and international mail. (Complaint, ¶ 9; see also Publication 52, § 348.21(e)). Publication 52 contains an explicit warning that metallic mercury and devices containing metallic mercury are always prohibited in the mail stream. Metallic mercury is classified under UN2809, a Department of Transportation class 8, corrosive material, which is a subsidiary division 6.1, toxic material risk. As such, mercury is prohibited in all classes of domestic and international mail. Publication 52 provides shippers guidance on mailing potentially hazardous, restricted, or perishable matter to domestic and international destinations. It provides specific mailability requirements for those categories of harmful materials that present significant danger, or which are frequently presented for mailing. Additionally, Publication 52 informs shippers which potentially undesirable, harmful, or dangerous matter is non-mailable via air transportation and via ground transportation by statute or regulation. (Complaint, ¶ 8). Moreover, section 212 of Publication 52 states that it is the mailer’s responsibility to know the hazards associated with the materials they are sending through the mail. (Complaint, ¶ 10).
The Postal Service prohibits mailing mercury due to the potential to leak, causing damage to equipment and potential injury to Postal Service personnel. In assessing a civil penalty, I consider both the damage to equipment and potential injury to personnel when the parcels leaked their corrosive material. In this instance the damage is clear and unequivocal. However, had this package leaked its corrosive material while being transported by air, the loss of life and catastrophic consequences would have been unimaginable.
Consequently, I find that the nature and gravity of Respondent’s violations are significant. The statute directs that “a person acts knowingly for purposes of paragraph (1) when — (A) the person has actual knowledge of the facts giving rise to the violation; or (B) the reasonable person acting in the circumstances and exercising reasonable care would have had that knowledge.” 39 U.S.C. § 3018(c)(2). I find that Respondent acted knowingly within the meaning of the statute.
Section 3018(e) of chapter 39 states:
[I]n determining the amount of civil penalty for a violation of this section, the Postal Service shall consider (1) the nature, circumstances, extent, and gravity of the violation;
(2) with respect to the person who committed the violation, the degree of culpability, any history or prior violations, the ability to pay, and any effect on the ability to continue in business; (3) the impact on Postal Service operations; and (4) any other matters that justice requires.
39 U.S.C. § 3018(e). Because Respondent offered no defense in this case, I cannot assess how a civil monetary penalty might impact her business. Nevertheless, Respondent’s blatant disregard of Postal Service regulations outweighs any concerns I might have about Respondent’s future business prospects. I also find that the impact upon Postal Service operations was significant. The Lake, MI postal facility, as well as two acceptance and delivery units, were required to suspend operations until May 25, 2023. Customers could not access their mail and had to travel extended distances to conduct their postal business. During that time, the community was without access to its Post Office. An extensive and expensive clean-up effort was undertaken by the Postal Service to reopen the facility. The cost to the Postal Service was $1,951,921.50.
Section 3018 provides that “a person who knowingly violates this section or a regulation prescribed under this section shall be liable for a civil penalty of at least $250, but not more than $100,000, for each violation.” 39 U.S.C. § 3018(c)(1)(A). The Postal Service seeks a monetary penalty of $10,000 in this case. Respondent has not opposed this request. Given the nature of the offense, the fact that Respondent has apparently engaged in this behavior with other packages, that she was warned at the time of the shipping of the danger of such conduct, and that she later lied to Postal Service Inspectors about the incident, the proposed penalty is reasonable under the circumstances.

ORDER

Cheryl Gorder is HEREBY ORDERED to pay restitution for clean-up costs to the United States Postal Service in the amount of $1,951,921.50.⁴
Cheryl Gorder is HEREBY ORDERED to pay a civil monetary penalty in the amount of $10,000 within 30 days of the date of this Order.⁵