The Hazardous Materials Transportation Act of 1975 and Title 49 of the code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Parts 100-199, define a hazardous material as a substance or material that may pose an unreasonable risk to health, safety, and property when transported in commerce, including explosives, flammable liquids, peroxides, poisons, radioactive materials, and corrosive materials. Within the United States, the secretary of transportation is responsible for protecting against risks to life and property inherent in transportation of hazardous materials in commerce. Today, more than 3 percent of all air cargo is hazardous materials or dangerous goods, presenting a unique situation because crew and passengers cannot always be evacuated easily if there is trouble with the cargo. To ensure safety in the aviation industry, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) inspects hazardous materials and carries out regularly scheduled security inspections of air carriers and airports. These inspections are necessary to ensure that air carriers have readily available guidelines and procedures to perform assigned duties, verify that personnel are FAA-approved trained, and ensure adequate acceptance procedures are used. To ensure that FAA inspectors keep up to date with revised regulations, the Office of Civil Aviation Security requires basic and refresher training courses every 12 to 24 months. The FAA's inspection and surveillance data is contained on two data bases: one deals with inspection/surveillance activities and the other deals with tracking violators. Violators are subject to civil penalties up to $10,000 for each violation and criminal penalties up to $25,000 and 5 years confinement. A revised FAA internal order requires revision of advisory circulars and provides sources of information to air carriers, freight forwarders, and shippers.