1989 DC Comics Superman Figurine: Lead-Free, Cadmium-Free, Arsenic-Free!!! :-)

Given the amount of wear on this Superman figurine (along with the year made – 1989, and the fact that it was made in China) it makes sense that the owner was concerned that it may test positive for Lead. However a pleasant surprise … this little guy was negative for Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic and Mercury. This is NOT always the case for toys from this era.

This is a good example of how paint can wear off of these sorts of figurines. Note the wear on his boots and hair in particular.

I tested several different components of the toy to come to this conclusion. Here are my full XRF test results. (Metals not listed were not detected, each test was done for at least 60 seconds):

Red Pants:

• Barium (Ba): 60 +/- 17 ppm
• Bromine (Br): 16 +/- 2 ppm
• Tin (Sn): 97 +/- 6 ppm
• Gold (Au): 9 +/- 6 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 77 +/- 12 ppm
• Titanium (Ti): 46,500 +/- 1,100 ppm

Blue Suit:

• Barium (Ba): 11,700 +/- 200 ppm
• Bromine (Br): 16 +/- 3 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 107 +/- 17 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 5,138 +/- 108 ppm

Black Hair:

• Barium (Ba): 674 +/- 70 ppm
• Chromium (Cr): 346 +/- 203 ppm
• Tin (Ti): 1,887 +/- 44 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 3,869 +/- 104 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 220 +/- 76 ppm

Yellow Belt:

• Tin (Sn): 18 +/- 8 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 99 +/- 20 ppm
• Titanium (Ti): 38,500 +/- 1,600 ppm

Peach Hand:

• Bromine (Br): 9 +/- 3 ppm
• Tin (Sn): 1,353 +/- 51 ppm
• Titanium (Ti): 101,700 +/- 3,700 ppm
• Indium (In): 29 +/- 12 ppm

Peach Face:

• Barium (Ba): 317 +/- 86 pom
• Tin (Sn): 1,332 +/- 48 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 3,490 +/- 135 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 190 +/- 98 ppm

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

Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama