The amount of Lead that is considered unsafe and illegal in a modern item manufactured for use by children today is anything 90 ppm or higher in the paint or coating or anything 100 ppm or higher in the substrate. As a result of the high levels of Lead found in this toy (see exact full XRF test results below) this toy would be considered illegal if sold for use by children today.
To see more toys I have tested, click here.
To see more toy dinosaurs I have tested, click here.
When tested with an XRF instrument this toy plastic triceratops dinosaur (“Made in China”) had the following readings (each test done for at least 60 seconds, metals not listed were not detected.)
Scroll down below the images to see the readings associated with each image.
Belly (unpainted – image above):
- Lead (Pb): 6,298 +/- 137 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 157 +/- 11 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 916 +/- 68 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): 388 +/- 179 ppm
- Antimony (Sb): 1,051 +/- 32 ppm
- Bromine (Br): 51 +/- 8 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 185 +/- 19 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 149 +/- 28 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 603 +/- 87 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 5,783 +/- 1,698 ppm
Black Painted Back (image above):
- Lead (Pb): 6,215 +/- 129 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 141 +/- 10 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 646 +/- 58 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): 473 +/- 161 ppm
- Antimony (Sb): 923 +/- 28 ppm
- Bromine (Br): 48 +/- 8 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 184 +/- 17 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 169 +/- 25 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 632 +/- 81 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 7,030 +/- 1,516 ppm
While Lead can cause permanent brain damage in young children (as with my son who has a diagnosed brain injury from being Lead poisoned as a baby), the high levels of Cadmium and Antimony in this toy are also concerning as each of those heavy metals has been demonstrated to cause cancer.
The test results reported here on this blog are science-based, accurate and replicable. Multiple tests were done on the separate components to confirm the levels. All test results reported on this blog are from testing done with a freshly calibrated XRF instrument testing in “Consumer Goods” mode (with readouts in parts per million – ppm.)
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.
I have the exact triceratops toy. Is it safe to have on display or does it pose a risk just being in the room?
I personally remember chewing on this as a young girl.
At least my memory isn’t damaged?