The amount of CADMIUM that is considered toxic (and illegal in Denmark!) in newly manufactured items intended for use by children today, is anything 75 ppm Cadmium or more. Here’s a table from a recent (2015) study about toxicants found in vintage plastic toys. If you click on the table it will take you to a post with a link to the full study.
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When tested with an XRF instrument this little doll had the following readings (tests done for a minimum of 60 seconds each, metals not detected in consumer goods mode are not listed).
Yellow Plastic Hair:
- Cadmium (Cd): 1,136 +/- 17 ppm
- Mercury (Hg): 8 +/- 4 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 1,475 +/- 84 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 119 +/- 8 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 526 +/- 142 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 1,664 +/- 217 ppm
Pink Plastic Face:
- Cadmium (Cd): 479 +/- 13 ppm
- Mercury (Hg): 27 +/- 5 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 659 +/- 90 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 13 +/- 5 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 1,847 +/- 237 ppm
Red Plastic Body/Dress:
- Cadmium (Cd): 59 +/- 12 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 20 +/- 8 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 457 +/- 290 ppm
These vintage Fisher Price Little People are more of a concern than some of the larger pieces (like houses and buses) because they can be easily popped in the mouth of a child during the course of normal play, and the hair is often high in Cadmium or Lead and the faces are often painted with Lead paint, which can easily be ingested by a child. It just takes a microscopic amount of Lead to poison a child. You can read more about that here.
To see more vintage Fisher Price toys that I have tested, click here.
Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.
Please let me know if you have any questions.
Tamara Rubin
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Have you tested any of the newer versions of Fisher Price Little People toys? For example the 2004 farm set? You stated in your Legos post that all Legos less than 12 years old are safe – is there any such time frame for Fisher Price Little People? Or Fisher Price toys in general? A Rainforest playmat toy with several dangling plastic toys for babies for example has been made for a while now.
What about the Fisher price 1987 kitchen set? Thank you for this information.
Hi Jackie – which one? Can you find me a link or get me a more specific description?
Tamara
Is this what you were asking about? I played with that everyday… Have since removed it from my toddlers toys due to reading these posts. Thank you Tamara!! https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/323772126004_/Vintage-1987-Fisher-Price-Pink-Tea-Set-with.jpg
Is this what you were asking about? I played with that everyday… Have since removed it from my toddlers toys due to reading these posts. Thank you Tamara!! https://www.picclickimg.com/d/l400/pict/323772126004_/Vintage-1987-Fisher-Price-Pink-Tea-Set-with.jpg
What years are vintage. Our fisher price toys are from 1987 and newer.
What I see in your articles are date ranges from 1970 and 1974.
Thank you for clarifying what vintage date range you are talking about.
Sincerely,
Julie Miller
Vintage is anything more than 20 years old. Here’s a good example of a *newer* one that is also toxic:
https://tamararubin.com/2021/05/vintage-1988-little-tikes-school-bus-passenger-1343-ppm-lead-6479-ppm-cadmium-5037-ppm-mercury/
My question is whether these toys can be enjoyed by children who don’t put anything in their mouths— and if they wash hands afterwards?
Some are painted with high lead paint – so no, the risk is too high.