One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
Is Mr. Toad's Wild Ride Teeming With Lead?
Photo by leolucido via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
The next time you visit the happiest place on earth, you may be greeted with signs at Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the Haunted Masion and Minnie's House in Toontown warning you that the place is teeming with lead.
An environment group called the Mateel Environmental Justice Foundation has filed an injunction against Disneyland, after it tested some of the most commonly-touched places at the amusement park and found high concentrations of lead, according to the Los Angeles Times.
State law requires warnings to be posted anywhere that people might be exposed to more than 0.5 micrograms of lead in a day. When the environmental group conducted a test that involves someone touching different items at the park and then testing their hands for lead, they found concentrations above that threshold: the Haunted Mansion had 1 microgram, the Peter Pan Ride had 9.75, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride had 5.82 and the stained-glass Pinocchio window at the Village Haus restaurant had 350 micrograms, according to the lawsuit.
The environmental group filed a lawsuit against Disneyland in Apri. After conducting the test, it has asked for an injunction so that Disneyland will put up signs warning patrons about the lead concentrations. Disneyland told the Times that they hadn't seen the injunction, so the company didn't want to comment.
Lead or no, it's probably a good idea to wash your hands beaucoup while you're at Disneyland, kids.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
