Held v. CWC Inventories, Incorporated

On October 21, 2011, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant CWC Inventories, Incorporated ("CWC"), entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that CWC sold toiletry cases/bags containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate ("DEHP") in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

At the time of the settlement, CWC represented that it no longer sells toiletry cases/bags in California. However, CWC has agreed that if in the future the company offers toiletry cases/bags in California, the cases/bags shall contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $22,000, 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.