Held v. Beaumont Products Incorporated

The parties involved in the case Held v. Beaumont Products Incorporated executed a Consent Judgment on December 6, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. alleged that Beaumont Products Incoroprated (“Beaumont”) sold sunscreen containing the chemical benzophenone in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, Beaumont agreed not to sell any sunscreen in California after a June 1, 2020, unless the sunscreen contains no more than certain amounts of benzophenone and/or octocrylene (which contains benzophenone) specified in the judgment when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Beaumont has also agreed to notify its suppliers of the final reformulation standards and urge them to comply expeditiously.  Should Beaumont provide Held with certification by June 15, 2018 that all its sunscreen sold in California meets the final reformulation standards, Held has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of up to $47,000, 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.