My husband purchased a ripstick for our son. to my surprice, the ripstick contains a Proposition 65 Warning. He has been riding the ripstick (skate/snow board type handleless scooter) for about two weeks.

I happened to pick-up the box and noticed a Proposition 65 warning on the back of the box. The warning indicated that the product contains materials known to the State of California to cause cancer…..

I contacted Razor @ 866-467-2967 they denied that there are any harmful chemicals in the product. I was told that the warning was an “error” and has been removed from their product.

Can anyone confirm whether this warning is correct or not? What is hazardous about this product.

For those who don’t want to be warned then just ignore the warnings and do what you’ve always done. Most of the rest of us would rather know and have a choice even if it means we need to make hard decisions. I agree it would be helpful if they could quantify the problem rather than sticking a warning sticker on, but it’s better than nothing.

Many old products contained lead. I did some electronics work with leaded solder and I’m hoping I didn’t absorb too much of it, though it was external contact and I was careful to wash up afterwards and took some precautions.

If you don’t value your brain or your nervous system then chow down on the lead and the heavy metals.

Incidentally, many brass house keys are made of metal that contain pockets of lead. Not such a good idea to allow a baby to play with or suck on keys because of that. Also, many locksmiths have high exposure since they grind lead-containing keys.

Your story provides many words to the wise. No level of lead is safe. And, thanks for the O Olive Oil link! That’s really helpful.

Thanks so much for this thread! I just had some real balsamic vinegar (not the fake “balsamic” called “di Modeno” which also apparently has a problem with lead) mailed from a Frisco store, and saw the warning label for the first time. I’m in Colorado, and for all our vaunted health-consciousness, we had no idea of this problem. I just ordered some of the lead-free balsamic from O Olive Oil.

To any people tempted to dismiss this as too much worrying about yet more health scares: I spent several years of sheer hell with a nasty case of lead poisoning from old plumbing that also killed several of our pet chickens. (We’d replaced all the old lead pipes in our historic house, but hadn’t realized that some other old pipes had lead-based sealant where they were joined. The old sealant was corroding, and our water was loaded with it.) My debilitating symptoms of joint inflammation and swelling, skin splitting, hair falling out, etc.. were misdiagnosed as severe rheumatoid arthritis. Even for adults, the excruciating physical problems aren’t as bad as the cognitive “brain fog” and depression. I was lucky: for adults, even the severe symptoms I had are pretty reversible with enough chelation. If’ we’d had any kids, they’d probably have been permanently handicapped. When it was finally diagnosed, I did some research in a biochemistry class on the effects of lead on the nervous system.. I discovered in reading science journals that there are plenty of specialists who want to see the official “maximum safe level” of lead in food and water set at _zero_. I.e. there _is_ no safe lead level. (Husband had been more conscientious about using the water filter, and escaped the problem, as did our spoiled cats, who insist on filtered water. A cautionary tale!)

Some people’s bodies tend to react very healthily, excreting lead (or other heavy metals). Others tend to accumulate it; nobody knows why. But for those who’ve ever had a problem with lead, we never want to risk those symptoms again. And heavy metals aren’t like microbes, which can generate an immune response to protect against future exposures. Each tiny or not-so-tiny exposure just makes things worse, whether it’s from food, from drinking water, from beverages stored in leaded crystal, from sanding down old paint, from air around some industrial sites…

It’s worth every bit of trouble we take to avoid even a tiny amount of lead or mercury, especially when it’s a question of kids getting exposed. Thanks again!

But in the conversation, I noticed the phrase “vinegar made from grapes,” which makes me wonder about wine. And does white balsamic pose the same risks? And about those risks, I share other readers’ desires for actual ppm data (some perspective).

Thanks for posting the information, and thanks to everyone for your comments. As an out-of-stater, it was helpful to find some context.

Joannie