Thrift Store Find For Today: BW Stevenson’s 1972 Record Album “Lead Free”: 8,357 +/- 167 ppm Lead [90 ppm is unsafe]
Really, I don’t need to say much about this one, right? So funny that an album named “Lead Free” even exists – let alone the fact that it is positive for more than 8,000 ppm Lead! LOL (#RandomThingsTamaraFindsHysterical!) My husband bought this for me (for $1), knowing it would likely test positive for a high level of Lead [side note: a musician himself, hubs said he didn’t know the artists, but “had remembered hearing good word-of-mouth reviews about this guy from friends” — and noted the “great lineup of other musicians on the recording”]! It is now going into my collection for my “Museum of Lead!”
For context, the amount of Lead that is considered unsafe (and illegal) in a newly manufactured item intended for use by children today is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint or coating or anything 100 ppm Lead or higher in the substrate. There is no regulation or regulatory standard for an allowable amount of Lead in vinyl record albums. New albums tend to be Lead-free (or at least low-Lead) but most vintage vinyl albums I have tested have been very high lead (in the 5,000 to 12,000 ppm range.)
Continue reading below to see the full XRF readings for this item (both the record and the jacket.)
More images of this album and album cover below.
To see more vinyl records I have tested, click here.
When tested with an XRF instrument, this record album had the following readings (each test done for a minimum of 60 seconds.)
Vinyl of Album (Black Plastic):
- Lead (Pb): 8,357 +/- 157 ppm
- Bromine (Br): 33 +/- 9 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 29 +/- 15 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 80 +/- 35 ppm
- Metals not listed were not detected.
Printed Paper/Cardboard Album Sleeve:
- Lead (Pb): 30 +/- 6 ppm
- Bromine (Br): 4+/- 2 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 62 +/- 18 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 249 +/- 15 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 37 +/- 14 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 14 +/- 9 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 599 +/- 42 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 8 +/- 5 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 2,148 +/- 297 ppm
- Metals not listed were not detected.
As always, thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
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Guess I’ll start wearing gloves when handling my vinyl collection! Yikes!
I recently got rid of my vinyl collection but I previously had a bunch of thrifted old records and some new in my bedroom, just a few feet away from where my 6 mo. old sleeps. I donated the records and wiped down the area they were in but wondering if this is an exposure concern for my baby or if more needs to be done?
The older record cases were breaking down/getting dusty and there are fans and AC blowing often in the room.