Held v. Alpha Garment, Inc,; et al.

On August 15, 2012, the Marin County Superior Court entered a Consent Judgment in Held v. Alpha Garment, Inc.; et al., which resolved citizen enforcer Dr. Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E.'s allegations that the defendant Alpha Garment, Inc. ("Alpha") sold belts 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, Alpha agreed not to sell belts in California after May 31, 2012 unless such belts contain less than or equal to 1,000 parts per million (0.1%) of DEHP when analyzed pursuant to state and federally approved testing methodologies. Alpha also agreed to place Proposition 65 warnings on the covered products it did not reformulate.

The Consent Judgment requires settlement payments of $49,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.