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August 13, 2010 | Print

Lead in the Bounce House

The bounce house birthday party turns out not to be as reliable as we thought! The California Attorney General filed a lawsuit this week claiming that the vinyl used in some bounce houses contain unsafe levels of lead. The suit arises from a study by the Center for Environmental Health which tested dozens of bounce houses and discovered lead levels ranging from 5,000 to 29,000 parts per million. The federal limit is 90 to 300 parts per million.

California wants manufacturers to change to lead-free vinyl and party rental stores to include warnings about lead in bounce houses. Until the new lead-free editions, we can wash kids’ hands and faces after they play in a bounce house. We also are pulling out new party ideas–cookie decorating, fishing in a kiddie pool, painting and planting flower pots, decorating magic boxes and treasure hunts.