Held v. Direct Resources International, Inc.

On June 4, 2009, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling defendant Direct Resources International, Inc. (“Direct Resources”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held’s allegations that Direct Resources sold inflatable vinyl toys/children’s items 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, Direct Resources agreed not to manufacture any inflatable vinyl toys/children’s items in California after November 28, 2008, unless the toys 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.