Held v. Battenfeld Technologies, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Held v. Battenfeld Technologies, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on April 9, 2014.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony Held, Ph.D., P.E., alleged that Battenfeld Technologies, Inc. (“Battenfeld”) sold bags with vinyl/PVC interiors containing the heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings. 

As part of the agreement, Battenfeld agreed not to sell any bags with vinyl/PVC interiors in California after July 1, 2014, unless the bags contain no more than 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Battenfeld provide written certification that all bags qualify as reformulated by August 15, 2014, and continuing into the future, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $29,000, 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.