Brimer v. American Tombow, Inc., et al.

Citizen enforcer Russell Brimer’s allegations against the defendant American Tombow, Inc. (“Tombow”) were resolved on January 29, 2013, when the Alameda County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Brimer v. American Tombow, Inc., et al.  In this enforcement action, Brimer alleged that Tombow sold vinyl/PVC pen pouches containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the settlement, Tombow agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC pen pouches in California after January 22, 2013, unless the pen pouches contain less than .1% of DEHP in each accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Tombow meet these heightened standards by November 19, 2012, Brimer agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $50,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Brimer and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.