Held v. Zoom Eyeworks, Inc.

On December 14, 2010, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E., and settling defendant Zoom Eyeworks, Inc. ("Zoom") entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement, which resolved Held's allegations that Zoom sold eyeglass cases with vinyl components containing the heavy metal lead and 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, Zoom agreed not to distribute or sell any eyeglass cases in California after December 14, 2010, unless the eyeglass cases contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP and less than 100 parts per million of lead when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, and yield less than 90 parts per million of lead for the paint or other surface coatings on the eyeglass cases when using state or federally approved testing methodologies.

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $36,000, 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.