Leeman v. Airgas, Inc., Airgas USA, LLC, and Airgas Safety, Inc.

The parties involved in this matter executed an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on August 14, 2014, which resolved the allegations that whistleblower Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D., made against settling parties Airgas, Inc., Airgas USA, LLC, and Airgas Safety, Inc. (collectively “Airgas”).  In this case, Leeman alleged that Airgas sold tools with vinyl/PVC grips 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, Airgas agreed not to sell any tools in California after September 1, 2014, unless the tools contain no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Airgas provide written certification that all tools sold in California qualify as reformulated by December 1, 2014, Leeman agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

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 citizen enforcer Leeman and her counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.