Held v. Tronex International, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Held v. Tronex International, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on January 14, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D, P.E. alleged that Tronex International, Inc. (“Tronex”) sold vinyl/PVC gloves containing the phthalate chemical diisononyl phthalate (“DINP”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, Tronex agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC gloves in California after the Marin County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the gloves contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DINP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or have Proposition 65 warnings provided.  Should Tronex provide Held with certification by November 15, 2016 that all vinyl/PVC gloves sold in California qualify as reformulated according to the above standards, Held has agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $37,650, 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.