Disneyland is full of attractions that can expose children to potentially dangerous levels of lead, according to an environmental group. The theme park in Anaheim, California, was sued by the Mateel Environment Justice Foundation in April. The lawsuit claims that stained glass windows in Cinderella's Castle, brass door knobs at Minnie's House, its Sword In The Stone attraction and other items contained excessive levels of lead.
The group is seeking a court injunction to require Disneyland to cover the items or display health warnings. William Verick, president of Mateel, said: 'We are asking the court to force Disney to take steps that should have been taken when we first told them that children at Disneyland are in danger of illegal lead exposures.'
After sending people to 'wipe test' various surfaces at the Orange County park last year, Mateel claimed it found numerous attractions that contained multiple times the amount of lead than is required for a health warning sign to be posted. Warning signs are required by law should the 'average exposure exceed 0.5 micrograms per day'. Disney has rejected the allegations and spokeswoman Suzi Brown says the company believes it is in full compliance with state law regarding sign-posting.
She told the Los Angeles Times: 'We have not seen the papers that we are told are being filed, so we cannot comment specifically. 'However, we believe that Disneyland Resort is in full compliance with the signage requirements.'Mateel went public with its claims alongside the Center For Environmental Health and the Ecological Rights Foundation after Disney allegedly failed to respond to the April lawsuit.
Charles Margulis, a spokesman for the Center For Environmental Health, said: 'It's disappointing that a $38billion company like Disney can’t be bothered to clean up their parks so they're safe for children.
'We’re telling our supporters to send a message to Disney today: there is no place for lead poisoning at the world's happiest place.'Mateel has filed many suits in recent years contending that companies violate California's Proposition 65 toxics law.