On Tuesday, three environmental and health advocacy groups – including the Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation, Ecological Rights Foundation and the Center for Environmental Health – said that Disneyland exposes children to high amounts of lead in more than 65 brass fixtures around the park.
A spokeswoman for the Center for Environmental Health, Caroline Cox, says brass railings, chains, and stanchions at the Haunted Mansion attraction are just some of the examples of high-lead containing fixtures in Disneyland, and that tests have been conducted over the past year using swabs that were then tested for lead levels.
The amounts found are not lethal, but Cox is concerned the exposure can harm children. She says:
The health effects of lead of our concern have to do with a child’s developing brain. What we are hoping Disney would do is to take steps to make sure kids won’t be exposed to lead.
Even a minimal amount of lead exposure can be harmful to children, says Fred Evenson, a spokesman for the Ecological Rights Foundation. Evenson says that children are exposed multiple times to unsafe lead levels while waiting in line for rides, and that “very minor doses of lead exposure cause attention deficit disorder and learning disorders.”
These groups have decided to go public after a lawsuit filed by Mateel in April allegedly didn’t garner a response from Disney, but Suzi Brown, a spokeswoman for Disney, has issued a statement refuting the claims. She says “The claims this plaintiff has made have been baseless. The Disneyland Resort fully complies with Proposition 65 and has always been committed to providing a safe environment for all its guests.”
We will keep you updated when more information becomes available.
