Vintage Fisher Price Toy Syringe: 6,331 ppm Lead!
When tested with an XRF instrument the vintage Fisher Price plastic toy syringe shown here was positive for 6,331 ppm Lead.
How much Lead is too much Lead in a toy?
The amount of Lead that is considered unsafe in a new/modern item intended for use by children is anything 100 ppm or higher in the substrate (the underlying plastic of a toy in this case, or the underlying ceramic of a dish) and anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint, glaze or coating of a toy. This toy is not painted or coated so the levels found are, in fact, the level of the plastic substrate. This toy was also made long before 2011, which is when the currently regulatory standards became fully implemented and enforceable across all types of children’s products.
TIP: Avoid all vintage toys! (sorry)
My general takeaway is that too many vintage toys can have unsafe levels of Lead. Given that appropriate testing methodologies (XRF testing or laboratory digestive / destructive testing) are not accessible to most consumers, your best bet as a consumer is to avoid vintage toys altogether (at least do not let your children play with them.) If you MUST keep vintage or antique toys for whatever the reason, please store them in locked cabinets behind glass so that children are not tempted to play with them.
Some additional information / additional reading:
- Here’s a link to a new/modern #LeadFree version of this product on Amazon!*
- For more #SaferChoices for your family, click here.
- To see more vintage Fisher Price toys I have tested, click here.
- To see more vintage plastic items I have tested, click here.
The work shared on this blog is a collaborative effort with my readers. My readers provide the items for me to test and report on (and the questions for me to answer) and they also help to cover the cost of the testing done here on the blog. If you want to be an active participant in this work and would like to make a contribution in support of my independent consumer goods testing and lead poisoning prevention advocacy work, click here. Thank you!
As always, thank you for reading and for sharing! Please let me know if you have any questions, I will do my best to answer them personally as soon as I have a moment (please understand this may take a while as I get hundreds of questions every day.) Thanks again! Have a great day, stay safe out there.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Was the entire doctor bag set tested as well? I’m reallt interested in the results. I have my doctor bag from when I was a kid saved back for my kids! So upsetting!
I have not tested the entire vintage doctor bag set, but would love to. I am sure many of the colors are leaded – just look at the other vintage fisher price test results to see which colors of plastic were high for what metals and you will get a sense of that, although I would LOVE for you to send me that for testing!;-)
Hi – I have been using your site extensively (and donated to pay it forward!). My son is on antibiotics and I noticed the CVS syringe paint is coming off already after 7 days of use… have you ever tested these oral medical syringes? It would be terrifying to think – but it seems like nothing made in china can be trusted.