- Email: [email protected]
“Lead paint — public nuisance? Irrelevant” according to New Jersey Court ruling
F O C U S have been tightened under the newly adopted regulations. The allowable TiO2 pigment content is now only 30 grams per square metre of dry film, with 98% opacity. For the time being, both the new and the old criteria will be valid concurrently for 12 months to allow the paint suppliers time to adapt to the new regulations. Cameron McKenna Environmental Law Bulletin, Oct 2002, 25 (Available from: McKenna & Co, Mitre House, 160 Aldersgate Street, London EC1A 4DD, UK. Tel: +44 0171 606 9000. Fax: +44 0171 606 9100)
LITIGATION “Lead paint – public nuisance? Irrelevant” according to New Jersey Court ruling Litigation on white lead pigment was covered at length in our editorial for ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct 2001. Quoting from that editorial: “Altogether, about 100 lawsuits have been filed in the US since 1989, seeking to blame paint and pigment manufacturers for problems arising from badly maintained lead paint. About half of these were later dropped by the plaintiffs, more than 40 have been resolved and several are still pending. The most important plaintiff to date is the Mr Sheldon Whitehouse (Attorney General of Rhode Island, one of the oldest of the 50 states of the Union). The Rhode Island Government adopted a healthcare programme in October 2000, which entails screening children and adults for lead poisoning. The Government has also embarked on a programme of stripping old leadbased coatings from public and private homes. In October 1999, Mr Whitehouse filed a lawsuit, seeking to recoup the costs of these programmes from six named paintmakers. The lawsuit was deliberately modelled along the lines of lawsuits filed by other State governments seeking to recover from tobacco companies money spent on treating smokingrelated illnesses.” In the early months of 2002, pronouncements by a Superior Court judge on the pre-trial motions laid before him strongly indicated that the Rhode Island lawsuit would focus on a single issue – does lead paint constitute a public nuisance? If plaintiffs can establish that lead paint
NOVEMBER 2002
O N
PIGMENTS
is indeed a public nuisance, then subsequent trials would be required to delve into the cause of the public nuisance and the possible damages payable. As far as the Rhode Island case is concerned, the question has still not been answered! At the end of October 2002, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the question of whether lead pigment in paint on Rhode Island buildings is a public nuisance. The jury was then dismissed by the trial judge. No date has been set for any further proceedings, including any possible retrial of the public nuisance issue. As far as New Jersey is concerned, the question has effectively been adjudged irrelevant anyway. In early November 2002, the Superior Court of New Jersey, sitting in Middlesex County, dismissed with prejudice complaints by 25 New Jersey municipalities and counties which had been consolidated in a suit against several former lead pigment manufacturers and the Lead Industries Association. The Superior Court ruled that the local government entities are not permitted to proceed with their complaints to recover damages from manufacturers of a legal product alleged to have created a public nuisance. Meanwhile, the City of Chicago has also filed a lawsuit alleging that lead paint should be classified as a public nuisance and that former lead pigment and lead paint manufacturers should be held accountable for the necessary clean-up and remedial work. This lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, on 5 September 2002. ICI Paints had originally been indicted in both the Rhode Island and City of Chicago lawsuits, but it was removed from the list of defendants in both cases as a result of successfully arguing that the Glidden Co in existence today was established as recently as 1986 and is therefore not “in a direct line of descent” from Glidden Paints, which may have been – and most probably was – a manufacturer of lead paints during the 1930s and 1940s. Press releases from: NL Industries Inc, 16825 Northchase Drive, Suite 1200, Houston, TX 77060-2544, USA. Fax: +1 212 423 3236. Website: http://www.nlind.com (29 Oct & 5 Nov 2002) & Press release from: ICI Paints, 925 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 441151487, USA. Fax: +1 216 344 8900. Website: http://www.icipaints.com (28 Oct 2002)
TECHNOLOGY BASF incorporates sunblocker-grade TiO2 in nylon fabric BASF has pioneered a type of nylon fabric for clothing designed to protect children and adults who might be exposed to the sun for long periods. The fabric is woven from fibres created from Ultramid BS416N, which is a granular product containing sunblocker-grade TiO2. The fabric looks like cotton and feels like cotton. It has a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 60%, even when wet. Possible applications include works clothes, sports clothes and swimwear. Technicky Tydenik, 15 Oct 2002, 50 (42), 16 (in Czech)
Bayer’s Aura technology enables processors to colour already-moulded plastics At a conference for designers in early September, Bayer launched its Fantasia colour range for engineering plastics, employing its new proprietary Aura colour infusion technology. The major advantage of Aura infusion technology is that it can be used to colour already moulded thermoplastics. Using the technology is relatively straightforward: the moulded plastic component is placed in a pre-heated bath containing an aqueous dispersion of dye and a Bayer proprietary surfactant. The moulded plastic is placed in the bath until the desired depth of colour is achieved. Thus, the end-result is an integrated colour in the plastic which cannot be removed by rubbing. The colour penetrates moulded plastic components up to a depth of 5 mm. Using Aura technology eliminates the need for plastics processors to keep large stocks of plastic in different colours and it reduces the amount of time needed for equipment cleaning. Bayer’s colour compounding unit also has four other new product ranges. Leda consists of a variety of effects for pre-coloured compounds. Imagio, developed in association with PPG Industries Inc, consists of a range of coatings for colour spraying moulded plastic pieces. The Faria range consists of polycarbonatebased film inserts, including some with a mirror finish on one side and
5
LITIGATION “Lead paint – public nuisance? Irrelevant” according to New Jersey Court ruling Litigation on white lead pigment was covered at length in our editorial for ‘Focus on Pigments’, Oct 2001. Quoting from that editorial: “Altogether, about 100 lawsuits have been filed in the US since 1989, seeking to blame paint and pigment manufacturers for problems arising from badly maintained lead paint. About half of these were later dropped by the plaintiffs, more than 40 have been resolved and several are still pending. The most important plaintiff to date is the Mr Sheldon Whitehouse (Attorney General of Rhode Island, one of the oldest of the 50 states of the Union). The Rhode Island Government adopted a healthcare programme in October 2000, which entails screening children and adults for lead poisoning. The Government has also embarked on a programme of stripping old leadbased coatings from public and private homes. In October 1999, Mr Whitehouse filed a lawsuit, seeking to recoup the costs of these programmes from six named paintmakers. The lawsuit was deliberately modelled along the lines of lawsuits filed by other State governments seeking to recover from tobacco companies money spent on treating smokingrelated illnesses.” In the early months of 2002, pronouncements by a Superior Court judge on the pre-trial motions laid before him strongly indicated that the Rhode Island lawsuit would focus on a single issue – does lead paint constitute a public nuisance? If plaintiffs can establish that lead paint
NOVEMBER 2002
O N
PIGMENTS
is indeed a public nuisance, then subsequent trials would be required to delve into the cause of the public nuisance and the possible damages payable. As far as the Rhode Island case is concerned, the question has still not been answered! At the end of October 2002, the jury was unable to reach a verdict on the question of whether lead pigment in paint on Rhode Island buildings is a public nuisance. The jury was then dismissed by the trial judge. No date has been set for any further proceedings, including any possible retrial of the public nuisance issue. As far as New Jersey is concerned, the question has effectively been adjudged irrelevant anyway. In early November 2002, the Superior Court of New Jersey, sitting in Middlesex County, dismissed with prejudice complaints by 25 New Jersey municipalities and counties which had been consolidated in a suit against several former lead pigment manufacturers and the Lead Industries Association. The Superior Court ruled that the local government entities are not permitted to proceed with their complaints to recover damages from manufacturers of a legal product alleged to have created a public nuisance. Meanwhile, the City of Chicago has also filed a lawsuit alleging that lead paint should be classified as a public nuisance and that former lead pigment and lead paint manufacturers should be held accountable for the necessary clean-up and remedial work. This lawsuit was filed in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, on 5 September 2002. ICI Paints had originally been indicted in both the Rhode Island and City of Chicago lawsuits, but it was removed from the list of defendants in both cases as a result of successfully arguing that the Glidden Co in existence today was established as recently as 1986 and is therefore not “in a direct line of descent” from Glidden Paints, which may have been – and most probably was – a manufacturer of lead paints during the 1930s and 1940s. Press releases from: NL Industries Inc, 16825 Northchase Drive, Suite 1200, Houston, TX 77060-2544, USA. Fax: +1 212 423 3236. Website: http://www.nlind.com (29 Oct & 5 Nov 2002) & Press release from: ICI Paints, 925 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 441151487, USA. Fax: +1 216 344 8900. Website: http://www.icipaints.com (28 Oct 2002)
TECHNOLOGY BASF incorporates sunblocker-grade TiO2 in nylon fabric BASF has pioneered a type of nylon fabric for clothing designed to protect children and adults who might be exposed to the sun for long periods. The fabric is woven from fibres created from Ultramid BS416N, which is a granular product containing sunblocker-grade TiO2. The fabric looks like cotton and feels like cotton. It has a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 60%, even when wet. Possible applications include works clothes, sports clothes and swimwear. Technicky Tydenik, 15 Oct 2002, 50 (42), 16 (in Czech)
Bayer’s Aura technology enables processors to colour already-moulded plastics At a conference for designers in early September, Bayer launched its Fantasia colour range for engineering plastics, employing its new proprietary Aura colour infusion technology. The major advantage of Aura infusion technology is that it can be used to colour already moulded thermoplastics. Using the technology is relatively straightforward: the moulded plastic component is placed in a pre-heated bath containing an aqueous dispersion of dye and a Bayer proprietary surfactant. The moulded plastic is placed in the bath until the desired depth of colour is achieved. Thus, the end-result is an integrated colour in the plastic which cannot be removed by rubbing. The colour penetrates moulded plastic components up to a depth of 5 mm. Using Aura technology eliminates the need for plastics processors to keep large stocks of plastic in different colours and it reduces the amount of time needed for equipment cleaning. Bayer’s colour compounding unit also has four other new product ranges. Leda consists of a variety of effects for pre-coloured compounds. Imagio, developed in association with PPG Industries Inc, consists of a range of coatings for colour spraying moulded plastic pieces. The Faria range consists of polycarbonatebased film inserts, including some with a mirror finish on one side and
5