2018 Dollar Store Santa Claus Design Metal Tray/ Plate: Lead-Free!

 

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2018 Dollar Tree Santa Claus Design Metal Tray
By Greenbrier International, Inc.
Made in China.

For exact XRF test results, scroll down.

To learn more about XRF testing, click HERE.

I was actually not at all surprised that this was 100% Lead-free. Most new tins (and items made of the same material as cookie tins — as these plates are) that I have tested have been either negative for Lead or positive for Lead at very trace/ low levels (levels considered safe by all standards). This tray was also negative for all of the other “baddies” — Mercury, Arsenic, Cadmium, Antimony, and more.

People often express concern for products from the Dollar (type) stores (Dollar Tree, Dollar Store, Dollar General, 99cent Store) and usually, I explain to them that BECAUSE these types of stores were cited for several significant Lead-violations years ago, in my experience, the products they sell have become much safer in recent years (at least from a Lead perspective — I don’t address plastics and plasticizers in my work).

Time will tell (and by that I mean like the next week or so because last night I spent $46 at the Dollar store on potentially “suspect” items to test for you all and there are a few examples in there that I just cannot imagine will be both Lead-free and Cadmium-free).

This is also yet another example to (hopefully) help dispel the myth that “Made in China” combined with “inexpensive” must always mean that something is likely positive for high levels of Lead. In my experience, this is simply not true.

To see more items from Dollar Tree Stores that we have tested already, click HERE.

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For this particular Santa Claus design Christmas tray, tested areas included all colors. Each test had similar test results to the sets of test results listed below (when tested with an XRF instrument):

All tests were completed for at least 60 seconds.

Green & Blue Area (Presents):

• Lead (Pb): Negative / Non-Detect
• Cadmium (Cd): Negative / Non-Detect
• Arsenic (As): Negative / Non-Detect
• Mercury (Hg): Negative / Non-Detect
• Antimony (Sb): Negative / Non-Detect
• Selenium (Se): Negative / Non-Detect
• Chromium (Cr): 483 +/- 102 ppm
• Barium (Ba): Negative / Non-Detect
• Copper (Cu): Negative / Non-Detect
• Iron (Fe): 910,500 +/- 1,900 ppm
• Vanadium (V): Negative / Non-Detect
• Titanium (Ti): 80,800 +/- 1,100 ppm
• Cobalt (Co): 5,365 +/- 1,469 ppm
• Magnesium (Mn): 1,783 +/- 523 ppm

Red Area (Santa’s Suit):

• Lead (Pb): Negative / Non-Detect
• Cadmium (Cd): Negative / Non-Detect
• Arsenic (As): Negative / Non-Detect
• Mercury (Hg): Negative / Non-Detect
• Antimony (Sb): Negative / Non-Detect
• Selenium (Se): Negative / Non-Detect
• Chromium (Cr): 373 +/- 94 ppm
• Barium (Ba): Negative / Non-Detect
• Copper (Cu): Negative / Non-Detect
• Iron (Fe): 913,900 +/- 1,600 ppm
• Vanadium (V): Negative / Non-Detect
• Titanium (Ti): 77,500 +/- 1,000 ppm
• Cobalt (Co): 5,490 +/- 1,272 ppm
• Magnesium (Mn): 1,562 +/- 433 ppm

To see more metalware pieces I have tested, click HERE.

Back of Tray:

• Lead (Pb): Negative / Non-Detect
• Cadmium (Cd): Negative / Non-Detect
• Arsenic (As): Negative / Non-Detect
• Mercury (Hg): Negative / Non-Detect
• Antimony (Sb): Negative / Non-Detect
• Selenium (Se):  Negative / Non-Detect
• Barium (Ba): Negative / Non-Detect
• Chromium (Cr): 663 +/- 97 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 996,400 +/- 1,600 ppm
• Magnesium (Mn): 1,859 +/- 481 ppm
• Vanadium (V): Negative / Non-Detect
• Titanium (Ti): Negative / Non-Detect
• Cobalt (Co): Negative / Non-Detect

As always, please let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you for reading and for sharing these results. (When you share Lead Safe Mama articles, the website earns income to help cover the costs of the independent consumer goods testing we do!)

If you want to donate and help with this kind of testing (where we buy stuff new at a store to test), you can “Chip-In” (via PayPal or with a credit card) by clicking HERE or you can contribute on GoFundME (LINK). As an example, this Dollar Tree store trip cost me about $60, including the stuff and the transportation, but not including the cost of testing and childcare.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama

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For those new to this website:

Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic). Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February of 2023 (March 2023 print edition).