Held v. M.S. Inserts and Fasteners Corp.

Whistleblower Anthony Held, Ph.D., P.E. and settling party M.S. Inserts and Fasteners Corp. (“MSIF”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on February 14, 2014, which resolved Held’s allegations that MSIF sold hand tools with vinyl/PVC grips containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DEHP”) and heavy metal lead in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.

As part of the settlement, MSIF agreed not to sell any hand tools with vinyl/PVC handles in California after February 1, 2014, unless the handles contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP and no more than 90 parts per million of lead in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should MSIF provide written certification that by June 1, 2014, and continuing into the future, all hand tools sold in California qualify as reformulated, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $23,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Held and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.