#Arsenic: Vintage Popeye & Olive Oyl Baby Rattle

When I tested this vintage plastic Popeye and Olive Oyl rattle I was CERTAIN it would be positive for high levels of lead, but I was wrong! No lead at all, not a trace in any component. Unfortunately it does not have a year of manufacture or maker’s mark on it, but based on other similar rattles I would guess it is a piece from the 1960s or early 1970s.

While it was lead free (when tested with an XRF instrument) it did test positive for trace (low) levels of arsenic in the red handle (but not in the other components), at 9 parts per million (ppm.) It was also negative for mercury and cadmium in all components.

Takeaway: In general avoid vintage or hand-me-down toys for children. Toys can be guaranteed to be safer from a toxicity standpoint if manufactured after 2010.

Looking for a new baby rattle?  Click here for a good choice on Amazon*.

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Thank you for reading, following and sharing! Please ask questions if you have them!

Tamara Rubin
Mother of Lead Poisoned Children
Trained and Certified in using an XRF instrument

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