Theme Parks’ Rides Exempt From Inspection

Although California boasts some of the nation’s most famous and sophisticated theme parks, it has exempted those parks from regular state inspections, and repeated efforts to stiffen laws have faltered in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

The state that spawned Disneyland and Universal Studios requires safety reviews of traveling carnival equipment such as simple carousels but not of the elaborate rides featured at its major amusement parks, state officials said Thursday.

“The bottom line is that rides like those at Disneyland, those rides are essentially exempt,” said Mark Carleson, deputy chief of the state’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health.

Cal/OSHA, as the division is commonly called, opened an investigation into the cause of the Christmas Eve tragedy at Disneyland, which critically injured two tourists and left a worker hospitalized following the accident at the Columbia sailing ship in the Rivers of America attraction at the world-famous Anaheim theme park.

But the state agency charged with overseeing worker safety is only involved because a worker was hurt. The agency has no mandate to inspect rides regularly, Carleson said.

No such inspections are required by Orange County government or the city of Anaheim, county and state officials said Thursday.

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In short, Disneyland is essentially self-regulated, said Tom Allen, safety administrator for the California Fair Services Authority in Sacramento, a quasi-governmental agency hired by fair operators to ensure the safety of their rides.

At the same time, Allen credits Disneyland for having an exceptional safety record and rigorous internal inspection requirements.

If a severe injury or death occurs on a ride, local police authorities have the authority to investigate, Cal/OSHA authorities said. But Anaheim police on Thursday said they have not opened such an investigation.

It had not been determined Thursday if the accident was in any way tied to faulty equipment, poor maintenance or other problems that regular inspections might have detected.

While Disney was not commenting on the incident Thursday, it has often cited its safety record, calling public safety its top priority.

According to state records, Cal/OSHA has investigated 12 work-related complaints at Disneyland in recent years. Three resulted in citations against the theme park.

For decades, Disney has opposed attempts to give state safety officials the authority to inspect their park rides, Allen and others said.

Efforts in both Sacramento and Washington to step up government oversight of so-called “fixed amusement parks” have frequently faltered.

Some public officials issued calls for more stringent inspections statewide after a June 1997 water slide accident at Waterworld USA in Concord, east of San Francisco, that killed one teenager and injured 32 of her classmates.

In response, State Assemblyman Tom Torlakson (D-Antioch) proposed a bill that would require state inspections for stationary amusement park rides. But the bill failed in committee.

The city of Concord took matters into its own hands, forging a contractual agreement with Waterworld that allows an independent inspection of the park annually.

The inspection agreement “just seemed like a good safety measure that was not terribly expensive or terribly ominous, so we could make sure there were no major things that needed to be fixed,” said Bill Reeds, community development director for Concord.

Although the Disneyland accident is bound to raise concerns, many point to the theme park’s reputation for safety.

“It’s very, very tragic,” Orange County Supervisor William G. Steiner, “but in the history of Disneyland, park visitors have been very safe. . . . When you see that they get 12 [million] to 14 million visitors a year at Disneyland, they have a very good record of park safety.”

The Cal/OSHA probe will focus primarily on how the worker was injured, and what or who was responsible. The investigation may also reveal what caused the parkgoers’ injuries, Cal/OSHA representative James Brown said.

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There have been no employee-related injuries or complaints at Disneyland’s Rivers of America attraction during the past three years, the period for which Cal/OSHA maintains such records.

Following its review of 12 work-related injuries or complaints at Disneyland, Cal/OSHA issued citations in the following incidents:

* A Disneyland employee injured her leg in March 1997 when she fell through a floor opening at the park’s Goofy Bounce House, Cal/OSHA records show. Disneyland was fined $225.

* A 1997 accident involving a metal worker led to five Cal/OSHA citations, although the cause is under appeal and details about the accident were not available Thursday.

* Disneyland was fined $1,250 in 1997 for a work-related injury involving a hazardous chemical, state records show. Details were not available Thursday.

As of 1995, California was one of only 11 states that did not require safety checks of new rides, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported then.

Congress in 1984 considered giving the commission power to inspect and monitor fixed-site amusement parks in states like California.

The House voted 300-119 to grant that authority, despite opposition led by then-Rep. William E. Dannemeyer, the Fullerton Republican whose district included Disneyland. The safety bill later failed.

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Also contributing to this report was Times staff writer E. Scott Reckard and researchers Peg Eby-Jager and William Holmes.