Since 1986, Proposition 65 requires that businesses with more than ten employees give clear and reasonable warning before knowingly exposing Californians to toxic chemicals. In the last five years, lead has been found in numerous products by non-profit testing centers. The California Attorney General has filed multiple lawsuits against high profile companies for notice violations and for exposing consumers to levels of lead that exceed federal standards.
For example, in 2008 the Attorney General and the Center for Environmental Health (CEH) filed suit against two of the largest manufacturers of artificial turf: FieldTurf USA, Inc. and Beaulieu. The CEH found instances of artificial turf fields that were installed before 2004 that had high levels of lead. The lead is found with the plastics that help keep the turf’s color bright. list of synthetic turf fields that it has tested for excessive lead levels, including three in Alameda County and one in San Mateo County.
In August 2010, the California Attorney General filed a lawsuit against multiple bounce house companies that failed to warn consumers of high levels of lead found in the vinyl with which the house were made. Once again the lead helped to keep the vibrant colored inflatable houses bright. The manufacturer of the vinyl had labeled it as lead free, yet when tested lead was found at high levels. Two of the biggest inflatable bounce house companies, Ninja Jump and eInflatable, agreed in a settlement to better monitor for toxics present in their product.
In 2006, the Office of the Attorney General had come to an agreement with high profile stores such as Target, Styles for Less, Macy’s, Nordstrom, and others to halt sales of jewelry with high lead content. Yet, in 2011 the Attorney General sent out 15 Violation Notice letters to various retailers, which included Target and Nordstrom. In February 2011, the CEH tested jewelry at Styles for Less whose main market is adolescents. One piece of