The other day we had a little contest… who could guess the closest Lead reading (in ppm) for what the highest Lead level on this vintage Fisher Price toy garage / downtown set would be?
THE ANSWER: The highest Lead level was 1,959 ppm (in the yellow plastic) and the winner (with a guess of 1,900) was Shannon Dodson! As her prize he’s being sent a set of Lead free dishes for her family this holiday season!
Here’s a link to the the dishes that Shannon won! LINK*
Congratulations Shannon Dodson!
and thank you to everyone who participated in this game!
Here are the full XRF readings for this piece. I am posting one reading set for each color plastic, as it is generally the color plastic that determines the Lead levels when it comes to vintage Fisher Price items.
Please scroll down through all of the images to see each of the readings for the different types of plastic in this item!
The Main Yellow Plastic Of the Body of the Town:
(90 second test, multiple tests done to confirm levels for purpose of contest!)
- Lead (Pb): 1,959 +/- 26 ppm
- Arsenic (As): 138 +/- 17 ppm
- Barium (Ba): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Chromium (Cr): 428 +/- 37 ppm
- Selenium (Se): Non-Detect / Negative
- Zinc (Zn): 206 +/- 8 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 10 +/- 5 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 2,361 +/- 179 ppm
The Orange Plastic of the Middle (Sloped) Roof:
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Zinc (Zn): 61 +/- 10 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 16 +/- 10 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 39 +/- 22 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 4,218 +/- 389 ppm
The Red Plastic of the Flat Roofs of the Shop:
- Lead (Pb): 519 +/- 15 ppm
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Barium (Ba): 165 +/- 78 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 88 +/- 7 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 29 +/- 14 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 1,143 +/- 202 ppm
The Reddish-Pink Plastic of the Fire Hydrant, Gas Pump and Garage Floor:
- Lead (Pb): 12 +/- 5 ppm
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Zinc (Zn): 19 +/- 8 ppm
The Green Plastic Door:
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Copper (Cu): 41 +/- 21 ppm
The Brown Plastic Door:
- Lead (Pb): 588 +/- 30 ppm
- Arsenic (As): 57 +/- 22 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Chromium (Cr): 182 +/- 66 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 18 +/- 11 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 2,687 +/- 110 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 3,671 +/- 429 ppm
The White Plastic of the Handle and Sides of the Body:
- Lead (Pb): 158 +/- 14 ppm
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Zinc (Zn): 65 +/- 12 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 8,863 +/- 524 ppm
The Gray Plastic of the Sidewalk:
- Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative
- Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative
- Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative
- Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative
- Zinc (Zn): 34 +/- 7 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 25 +/- 16 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 6 +/- 4 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 5,595 +/- 318 ppm
As always, thank you for reading and sharing my posts.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
*Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on one of my links I may receive a small percentage of what you spend at no additional cost to you.
Were these products made in the US? Did that make a difference in the levels vs the made in China toys? Also if made in the US after 1978 were they not supposed to follow the no lead in paint guidelines?
Hi Marie,
The vintage Fisher Price items have been made in Mexico and the United States. I have no prejudice against toys made in China. I would never consider a toy to be unsafe simply because it was made in China. In fact – Made In China toys (modern toys, made by brand names) are possibly safer than other choices because of the degree of regulatory oversight.
The 1978 ban on Lead paint was for housing, not for toys.
Tamara
Plus most of these vintage Fisher Price toys are not painted – The lead is impregnated into the plastic as part of the colorant formulation in most cases.
Tamara
Hi! I was gifted of this set “fisher price fun sounds garage car wash”, since it did look aged, should I be concerned there might be lead in this vintage toy? Thanks!
Same set as following post:
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/1999-fisher-price-fun-sounds-garage-car-wash-762-c-5414445a90#
https://www.mercari.com/us/item/m20084421201/?gclsrc=aw.ds&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=18591161469&utm_content=t0&adgroup=147710898360&network=g&device=c&merchant_id=134611514&product_id=m20084421201&product_id=1832792829565&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIh9XdnduB_gIV5mpvBB2fIwfKEAQYAyABEgKRMvD_BwE
Thanks!
I found the product page for this toy.
https://service.mattel.com/us/productDetail.aspx?prodno=72693&siteid=27