Introduction (for those new to this website):
Tamara Rubin is a federal-award-winning independent advocate for consumer goods safety and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children, her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005. Since 2009 Tamara has been using XRF testing (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals), including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic. All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable. Items are tested multiple times, to confirm the test results for each component. Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February of 2023.
October 16, 2022 — Sunday
This red toy phone by Little Tikes tested positive for Cadmium in all components (Cadmium is a known carcinogen and does not belong in any children’s toys; to read more about the concern for Cadmium toxicity [including current limits for Cadmium in consumer goods], please click this link). In general, in the absence of independent testing being done on a specific toy, vintage plastic toys should be avoided at all costs (children should not be allowed to play with them — especially children who may be inclined to put toys like this in their mouths). To see more Little Tikes toys that I have tested, click here.
Below is a full set of XRF test results for the vintage toy phone pictured.
Reading on the red plastic body of the phone
60-second reading
Readings repeated multiple times to confirm the results
Note: All components of the phone (red, yellow and white plastic) tested positive for at least some Cadmium
- Lead (Pb): non-detect
- Cadmium (Cd): 1,800 +/- 30 ppm
- Tin (Sn): non-detect
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Selenium (Se): 588 +/- 11 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 567 +/- 134 ppm
- Arsenic (As): non-detect
- Chromium (Cr): non-detect
- Antimony (Sb): non-detect
- Nickel (Ni): non-detect
- Copper (Cu): non-detect
- Zinc (Zn): 30 +/- 6 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): non-detect
- Manganese (Mn): non-detect
- Bromine (Br): non-detect
- Indium (In): non-detect
- Bismuth (Bi): non-detect
- Zirconium (Zr): non-detect
- Niobium (Nb): non-detect
- Iron (Fe): non-detect
- Gold (Au): non-detect
- Cobalt (Co): non-detect
- Tungsten (W): non-detect
- Platinum (Pt): non-detect
- No other metals were detected in consumer goods mode.
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