Englander v. Alcoa Global Fasteners, Inc.

A Settlement Agreement was entered into on March 5, 2013, when citizen enforcer Peter Englander and settling party Alcoa Global Fasteners, Inc. (“Alcoa”) resolved Englander’s allegations that Alcoa sold thread repair kits 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, Alcoa agreed not to sell any thread repair kits in California after March 8, 2013, unless the grips contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Thread repair kits received in inventory prior to March 4, 2013, may be sold with Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Alcoa eliminate the need for Proposition 65 warnings on the kits by July 15, 2013, and continuing into the future, Englander agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $41,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Englander and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.