DiPirro v. PNS Stores, Inc., et al.

Citizen enforcer Michael DiPirro and PNS Stores, Inc. entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on October 13, 2000. This agreement was later brought before, and subsequently approved by, the Alameda County Superior Court on December 13, 2000. The Settlement Agreement resolved DiPirro's allegations that PNS's grinders, drills, and soldering products contained the heavy metal lead and the toxins crystalline silica, arsenic, chromium, and formaldehyde and were sold in the State of California without the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement agreement, PNS agreed to place Proposition 65 health hazard warnings on the covered products.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $25,000, to be divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower DiPirro and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.