When tested with an XRF instrument these #3 tennis balls from Penn are negative (non-detect) for lead (Pb), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd.) To date, I have never tested a tennis ball that was positive for lead (although there are not a lot of vintage tennis balls arounds – so I cannot speak to the potential toxicant content of vintage tennis balls!)
With four sons and free access to community tennis courts just four blocks down the street from our house, I buy tennis balls by the case every two or three years (it’s amazing how quickly they get lost when you play tennis with a bunch of kids!)
These particular balls were purchased in 2015/2016 (when I last bought them). Both the logo area and plain yellow areas were tested.
Interesting to note, as with many yellow and brown things these were positive for barium (Ba). The barium level was 7,499 +/- 232 ppm. They did not test positive for any other metals.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions!
To see tennis rackets that I have tested, click here.
To purchase these exact balls on Amazon*, click here.
Sincerely,
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
*Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on one of my affiliate links I may receive a small percentage of what you spend at no additional cost to you! Thank you for supporting my advocacy work in this way!
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