Vintage Fisher Price Motor Boat Toy.
Tested with an XRF instrument:
Green Plastic
Arsenic (As): 113 +/- 23 ppm
Yellow Plastic
Cadmium (Cd): 1992 +/- 41 ppm
White Plastic
Lead (Pb): 148 +/- 11 ppm
Most plastic vintage Fisher Price toys are positive for some level of lead, cadmium or arsenic. There is no place for these elements in toys intended for children. While no study has been done (to my knowledge) about whether or not this sort of toy might cause the poisoning of a child (because no one has a financial interest in doing scientific studies on vintage toys – even though everyone seems to have these in the basement or attic at Grandma’s house!) the levels of lead and cadmium have been documented and noted to be above what is safe for exposure to a child for modern toys. Said another way, if this was a modern toy – it would be considered illegal, solely based on the lead and cadmium levels. I don’t have enough information about arsenic and in the online research I have done I have not found any low threshold standard set as an “allowable” amount of arsenic in an item intended for use by children. If you have a link for that, please share it with me and I will update this post! Thank you!
For more vintage Fisher Price items that I have tested, click here.
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Thank you for reading and for sharing this important information, to help educate parents and protect children everywhere!
Sincerely,
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Mother of Lead Poisoned Children
bmommyx2 says
My brother had one & we played with it in the bath all of the time 🙁
Lynn says
I have this for my son!!!! Omg so sad!!
No more of this as a bath toy!!!
Needs to set sail to the dump.
Many memories, but it’s what’s best.