Held v. ZM International, Inc.

On February 23, 2009, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E., and settling defendant ZM International, Inc. ("ZM") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that ZM sold children's vinyl backpacks, purses, and vinyl raincoats 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, ZM agreed not to sell any children's vinyl backpacks, purses, or raincoats in California after February 23, 2009, unless the backpacks, purses, and raincoats 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.