Held v. Pasco Specialty & Mfg, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Held v. Pasco Specialty & Mfg, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on October 17, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held alleged that Pasco Specialty & Mfg, Inc.(“Pasco”) sold tools with vinyl/PVC grips containing the phthalate chemical di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (“DINP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, Pasco agreed not to sell any tools with vinyl/PVC grips in California after the San Francisco County Superior Court enters the Judgment, unless the grips contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DINP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Pasco provide Held with certification by October 25, 2016 that all tools with vinyl/PVC grips sold in California qualify as reformulated by the aforementioned standards, Held agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of up to $39,900, 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 her counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.