California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown is suing several companies involved in manufacturing children's bounce houses because some of the inflatable structures contain unsafe amounts of lead.
Testing done by the Center for the Environmental Health and the AG's office found that some of the vinyl in the bounce houses contains lead levels that violate both federal and state regulations.
"Kids at birthday parties can spend hours playing in bounce houses," said Brown. "The goal of our lawsuit is to eliminate any chance they will be exposed to lead while they're jumping around having a good time."
Bounce houses are large inflatable structures designed for children to play in and on. Facilities that feature indoor inflatables are popular sites for children's parties, serving millions of kids. Companies also rent inflatables for use at children's parties.
Get the lead out
In February and March 2010, the Brown's office received notices from the Center for Environmental Health that its testing showed parts of some bounce houses were contaminated with high levels of lead, ranging from 5,000 parts per million (ppm) to 29,000 ppm. Federal limits on lead in children's products are 90 ppm for painted surfaces and 300 ppm for all other parts.
The lawsuit is intended to force these companies to stop using lead-containing vinyl immediately and to cease selling the lead-containing products. In addition, the action is intended to warn purchasers of these products, and require party places and rental companies to post warnings.
The main exposure pathway from the bounce house to the child is hand-to-mouth. Lead is transferred from the vinyl to a child's hand during play and then to the mouth.
There is no safe exposure to lead. The tested levels of lead are not high enough by themselves to cause acute health problems, but some people, especially children, who are exposed to lead from a variety of sources can suffer health problems.
Companies named in the lawsuit include:
• Bay Area Jump
• Cutting Edge Creations
• Funtastic Factory, known as einflatables.com
• Magic Jump
• Leisure Activities Co.
• Thrillworks
• The Inflatable Store
• Jump for Fun, Inc.
• Jump for Fun National, Inc.
Anti-lead campaign
Brown has initiated several enforcement actions during the past year against manufacturers and retailers for lead in products designed for children.
In July, he reached a settlement with artificial turf manufacturers to lower lead levels in turf fields and playgrounds. In June, Brown demanded that Rainbow and 5-7-9 stores remove from shelves jewelry with parts containing as much as 97 percent lead.
Earlier this year, Target removed teddy bears from its stores after the AG notified the company that lead was found in the product. In November 2009, Brown warned several retailers, including Walmart, Sears and Walgreens, to remove several products designed for children that were found to contain excessive levels of lead.
