Whoda Thunk It?: Childrens Bounce Houses Contain Dangerous Lead Levels
Theyre a staple of toddlers birthday parties, childrens holiday parties and other seemingly carefree events. Your children take off their footwear and climb into the inflated bounce house and youre free from worry (and perhaps bother) for a few minutes. Or are you? If the allegations in California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr.s lawsuit against several companies involved in manufacturing children's bounce houses are correct, some of the inflatable structures contain unsafe amounts of lead in their vinyl covering. 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. Testing done by the Center for the Environmental Health and the Attorney General's office reportedly found that some of the vinyl in the bounce houses contains lead levels that violate both federal and state regulations. In February and March 2010, the Attorney General's office received notices from the Center for Environmental Health alleging 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. According to the press release, California's 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. It is important to realize that the tested levels of lead are not high enough by themselves to cause acute health problems. But children, who are exposed to lead from a variety of sources, can suffer health problems. The goal is to eliminate sources of lead whenever possible. 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. And Jump for Fun National, Inc. In the past year, Attorney General Brown has initiated several enforcement actions against manufacturers and retailers for lead in products designed for children. These products include artificial turf in playgrounds, jewelry and even teddy bears. Stores that were involved included Rainbow stores, Target, Walmart, Sears and Walgreens. The lawyers at Levine & Slavit have decades of experience handling personal injury claims involving dangerous and defective products . If you or someone close to you has been injured by a product that was not properly manufactured, designed or labeled, contact the offices of Levine & Slavit in New York or Long Island for their help. We have offices in Manhattan and Long Island, handling cases in New York City, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and surrounding areas including Nassau, Suffolk and Westchester Counties. For 50 years spanning 3 generations, we have obtained results for satisfied clients. To learn more, watch our videos.
