Parents love bounce houses and children love bouncing in them.  However, according to Attorney General Jerry Brown of California, it may also be toxic.

A lawsuit was filed on Wednesday by Mr. Brown’s office and claims that some of the inflatable bounce houses that help entertain young children at parties have unsafe levels of lead, sometimes dozens of times the federal limit.

“I was surprised,” said Mr. Brown, who is running for governor in a state with 2.7 million children under age 5. “But as we test more and more of these products, we find dangers.”

The Center for Environmental Health in Oakland, California prompted the lawsuit.  The advocacy group did an investigation and tested dozens of bounce houses concentrating on the vinyl that gives them their bounce.

The lead levels in the vinyl varied from 5,000 parts per million to 29,000.  This is way above the federal limit of 0 to 300 parts per million.

Senior Vice President of Cutting Edge Creations Inc., Robert Field, called the investigation a “witch hunt.”  He believes it could seriously damage the bounce house industry.

“California already has many financial problems,” Mr. Field said. “Do they really wish to potentially place thousands of small-business owners that operate children’s party centers out of business?”

According to spokesman for the center, Charles Margulis, children should not stop using the houses, they should just wipe their hands and faces afterward.

Dr. Megan Schwarzman, a family physician and an associate director at the Berkeley Center for Green Chemistry, said that she had not seen the test results, but that there was no safe level of lead exposure for children. “Everyone is exposed from so many different sources,” Dr. Schwarzman said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lead exposure can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems and, at very high levels, seizures, coma and death.

Mr. Brown stated he wanted manufactures to stop using lead-containing vinyl and for rental companies and party places to post warnings about lead in the bounce houses.  “I certainly don’t want to be a kill joy here,” he said. “I just think parents should be cognizant.”