Held v. Root-Lowell Manufacturing Co.

The parties involved in the case Held v. Root-Lowell Manufacturing Co. executed a Consent Judgment on July 2, 2018.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. alleged that Root-Lowell Manufacturing Co. (“Root-Lowell”) sold vinyl/PVC sprayer hoses 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 agreement, Root-Lowell agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC sprayer hoses in California after the Marin County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the hoses contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.

 

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of up to $41,000, 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.