May. 28 – Prop 65: Lead-tainted lunchboxes trigger $10 million fine

An article from the Contra Costa Times hilights the potentially high costs for non-compliance with California’s Prop 65:

A San Francisco judge sent a $10 million message Tuesday to a Los Angeles company that repeatedly ignored warnings to reduce the amount of lead in its lunchbox products, two of which were found at a Hillsborough elementary school…

State law divides the court-ordered penalty between the state and the party issuing the lawsuit. By that formula, the Center for Environmental Health is awarded $2.5 million, and $7.5 million goes to a state environmental research and enforcement fund. The center is also to receive $71,500 in legal fees and costs…

“This is an unusually large fine for a Proposition 65 violation,” said Sam Delson, with the health hazard assessment office, referring to a proposition passed by voters in 1986 also known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. “But it remains to be seen if it will be collected.”

The agency purchased 300,000 vinyl lunchboxes from T-A Creations for a 2007 health promotion campaign, and had to issue an embarrassing recall of 56,000 of the lunchboxes after some were found to contain high levels of excess lead.

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