Held v. Alpine Corporation

On May 23, 2018, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling party Alpine Corporation (“Alpine”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Held had alleged that Alpine sold vinyl/PVC greenhouse covers 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, Alpine agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC greenhouse covers in California after May 8, 2018, unless the greenhouse covers contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $18,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.