ENERGY

Mobil Settles FTC Complaint Over Environmental Claims: The oil company, without admitting guilt, settled charges by the Federal Trade Commission of falsely claiming that its Hefty trash bags break down into harmless particles when placed in landfills and that they are safer for the environment than other plastic bags. The FTC settlement essentially ratifies and extends nationwide a similar agreement with Mobil that was reached last fall by a task force of state attorneys general. Though a few Hefty boxes on supermarket shelves may still carry the contested label, Mobil has not distributed the product in that package for some time, according to Richard A. Denison, a senior scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund.