Lawsuit: Inflatable Jump Bounce Houses

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Jennifer Lance, EcoChildsPlay.com

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Popular at birthday parties and fairs, inflatable bounce houses allow kids to jump and play to their hearts’ content. I’ve always been concerned about the energy use and hearing damage caused by the blowers on these jump houses, but the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) and the California Attorney General have found that they also “pose lead hazard to children”.

CEH explains:

CEH testing found one bounce house contained more than 70 times the federal limit for lead in children’s products under the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act. Independent testing commissioned by CEH also showed that lead from bounce houses can expose children to the toxic chemical at levels that violate California law.

It’s the PVC to blame for the lead content in these bounce houses. This “poison plastic” has prompted the California Attorney General Jerry Brown to file a lawsuit against companies that supply bounce houses.

One mother, Mary Brune, Director of Making Our Milk Safe (MOMS), shares:

I’m horrified by these findings. My daughter just celebrated her 6th birthday with a bounce house party, and we’ve been to at least 7 other bounce house events in the last year. We parents can’t police all of the places our children visit looking for invisible health hazards. This problem needs to be solved—and soon.

When was the last time your child was in a bounce house? It was last year at school for my daughter.

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image courtesy of GraceFamily / CC BY-SA 2.0

The opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and not necessarily those of
Healthy Child Healthy World.

Posted by Valleri on 03/19/2011 at 02:10 PM

Many of the materials used to create a bounce house are imported. Assembled in the USA does not cut it. There are genuine USA made bounce houses, but they cost more which is why so many parents choose the less expensive models. Do your research people!

Posted by Jose Lopez on 01/28/2011 at 05:18 PM

As a respected Bounce House company not all Bounce Houses has lead. I for one care about my customers as well as their kids. I too am a parent and I let my kids play in my units. As a Bounce House company I rather pay more and get quality equipment than trying to save a few bucks an cheap stuff and God knows where those units are made.

Before you book a Bounce House, see their website. You can actually see real Bounce House Business owners from those “Fly by night companies” that are poping up everywhere.

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