Honeywell to Pay $800,000 Civil Penalty

Honeywell, Inc., has agreed to pay the largest civil penalty ever levied by the Consumer Product Safety Commission, $800,000, to settle a series of suits and investigations launched by the agency.

The safety agency, which announced the settlement, had changed Honeywell with failing to report defects and hazards involving gas valves it produced. Explosions and fires associated with the valves resulted in 22 deaths and 77 injuries, the commission said.

In addition to the civil penalty, Honeywell agreed to conduct an extensive inspection, repair and warning program.

Involved are controls on thousands of liquefied petroleum furnaces, space heaters and water heaters made since 1958. They are known as the V8280 family of gas controls and model V5130 water heater controls.

Owners of the devices were urged to contact their gas suppliers or Honeywell, but to not attempt to fix the valves themselves. Gas suppliers will be offered a bounty of $50 for each case where they locate one of these valves still in use.

Honeywell has denied that either type of valve was defective.

However, the company agreed to replace those V8280 controls made from 1961 to 1963 in which the control knobs are susceptible to becoming stuck down. Warning labels will be placed on heaters to advise consumers about possible dangerous conditions.