Moorberg v. Zircon Corporation

Whistleblower Mark Moorberg and settling party Zircon Corporation (“Zircon”) entered into an out-of-court Settlement Agreement on August 19, 2014, which resolved Moorberg’s allegations that Zircon sold vinyl/PVC tubing 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, Zircon agreed not to manufacture for sale any vinyl/PVC tubing in California after September 15, 2014, unless the tubing contains no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP in any accessible component when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should Zircon provide written certification that by October 15, 2014, and continuing into the future, all hoses with metal fillings sold in California qualify as reformulated, Moorberg agreed to waive a portion of the civil fine that would otherwise be applied. 

The Settlement Agreement requires settlement payments of $24,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to citizen enforcer Moorberg and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.