19 Comments

  1. being a machinist and an autistic/adhd person who has a giant box full of fidgets (including a spinner), I just had to look up to see if there is something they’re doing to the manufacturing process of brass to make it high in lead.

    I’ll be damned. if Wikipedia is worth beans: “To enhance the machinability of brass, lead is often added in concentrations of around 2%. Since lead has a lower melting point than the other constituents of the brass, it tends to migrate towards the grain boundaries in the form of globules as it cools from casting. The pattern the globules form on the surface of the brass increases the available lead surface area which in turn affects the degree of leaching. In addition, cutting operations can smear the lead globules over the surface. These effects can lead to significant lead leaching from brasses of comparatively low lead content.”

    Here is the source it lists for that: ” Stagnation Time, Composition, pH, and Orthophosphate Effects on Metal Leaching from Brass. Washington DC: United States Environmental Protection Agency. September 1996. p. 7. EPA/600/R-96/103.”

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        1. no you cant “clean” it off maybe you could seal it with something but id get rid of anything like this f you have a young child because those sealants probably are also BAD chemicals

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        2. As the other reply said, no you can’t remove lead from brass by cleaning it with a solvent. You can’t ‘clean’ lead out of brass by any method. Studies on brass keys (most keys are brass or chrome plated brass) reveal that even when a key is old and worn, there is still a high availability of lead on the worn surface. I try to avoid all brass items. Certainly kids and brass should not mingle.

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    2. i was glad i read this had i not i was looking for a “shiny” fidget spinner for my son with autism…hes 13 but still i wouldnt want to expose him to all this lead so ill stay away from brass ones having seen this

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    3. They’re probably made of 360 yellow brass, which is a leaded brass. It would be used because it’s super cheap and very machinable. If they were made of silicon bronze, or manganese bronze if they wanted to keep the color, there would be no problems st all, as it has no lead.

      That being said, I machine leaded brass and bronze every day, and have for 10 years. As well as melted and cast it, I have never tested positive for high lead levels.

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  3. The title is very misleading considering most of the spinners tested were negative? it would seem the majority are negative.

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  4. Any recommendations for people desiring to buy and/or sell fidget spinners without lead?

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  5. And are your results in writing? While I would want to avoid FS’s with lead, I’d rather not forsake this as a means of potential income if the overwhelming results tend towards a limited number being tainted.

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  6. I appreciate so much all of your efforts and information! My children each have 2 and to be safe, we are are all in agreement that they be discarded. Now…. I like to work in the solution, and we want lead free ones! Any suggestions as to where to find them? Thank you!

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