Held v. The Design and Source Holding Company, Ltd.

On May 3, 2011, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant The Design and Source Holding Company, Ltd. ("Design and Source"), entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Design and Source 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, Design and Source agreed not to manufacture any belts in California after May 9, 2011, unless the belts contain less than or equal to 1,000 parts per million each of DEHP, n-butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) when analyzed using state and federally approved testing methodologies. Design and Source commit that 100% of belts offered for sale in California after May 9, 2011, shall comply by these regulations and be Phthalate Free. Due to Design and Source's commitment to comply by these heightened standards and cooperation during the settlement, Held agreed to credit a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $33,000, 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.