Vinocur v. Electro Tape Specialties, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Vinocur v. Electro Tape Specialties, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on May 9, 2018.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Laurence Vinocur alleged that Electro Tape Specialties, Inc. (“Electro Tape”) sold vinyl/PVC electrical tape 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 agreement, Electro Tape agreed not to sell any vinyl/PVC electrical tape in California after the San Francisco County Superior Court approves the Judgment, unless the electrical tape contains no more than 1,000 parts per million of DEHP when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies or has Proposition 65 warnings provided.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of up to $31,500, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Vinocur and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.