Leeman v. OccuNomix International, LLC
On July 29, 2016, citizen enforcer Whitney R. Leeman, Ph.D. and settling party OccuNomix International, LLC (“OccuNomix”) entered into an out-of-court settlement agreement. Leeman had alleged that OccuNomix sold safety vests with vinyl/PVC reflective tape components 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, OccuNomix agreed not to sell any safety gear with vinyl/PVC reflective tape components in California after October 15, 2016, unless the nozzles contain less than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies OR have Proposition 65 warnings provided.
The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $28,000, 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.