Wozniak v. Tramontina USA, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Wozniak v. Tramontina USA, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on May 12, 2016.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Paul Wozniak alleged that Tramontina USA, Inc. (“Tramontina”) sold nylon cooking utensils containing the chemical 4,4’-methylenedianiline (“4,4’-MDA”) in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, Tramontina agreed not to sell any nylon cooking utensils in California after the San Francisco County Superior Court enters the Judgment, unless the utensils, when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies, contain no more than 200 parts per million of 4,4’-MDA by weight or produce a leach result of 10 ug/L or less of 4,4’-MDA.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of $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 Wozniak and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.