Plastic Blocks

How old are your child’s toys? Mega Bloks Large Yellow Building Block (c. 1990-2007?): 5,402 ppm Lead (90 is unsafe for kids) + 88 ppm Mercury

How old are your child’s toys? Mega Bloks Large Yellow Building Block (c. 1990-2007?): 5,402 ppm Lead (90 is unsafe for kids) + 88 ppm Mercury

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Introduction to Tamara Rubin (for those new to this website!) Tamara Rubin lives in Portland, Oregon and is a child health advocate, author, documentary filmmaker, and mother of four sons. Her young men are now 24, 18, 15, and 12. She has won multiple national awards for her Lead-poisoning prevention advocacy work (including two from U.S….

c. 1989 Flexibear Flexiblocks plastic toy: 1,735 ppm Lead. 90 ppm & up is considered unsafe/illegal in modern toys.

c. 1989 Flexibear Flexiblocks plastic toy: 1,735 ppm Lead. 90 ppm & up is considered unsafe/illegal in modern toys.

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Introduction (for those new to this website): Tamara Rubin is an independent advocate for consumer goods safety. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children. She began testing consumer goods for toxicants in 2009 and was the parent-advocate responsible for finding Lead in the popular fidget spinner toys in 2017. Tamara uses XRF testing (a scientific…

Vintage (1990s?) TYCO plastic building blocks (Duplo-style): Lead-free, Cadmium-free, Arsenic-free!

Vintage (1990s?) TYCO plastic building blocks (Duplo-style): Lead-free, Cadmium-free, Arsenic-free!

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Green TYCO building block – 30 seconds Copper (Cu): 150 +/- 15 ppm Nickel (Ni): 13 +/- 8 ppm Iron (Fe): 55 +/- 20 ppm Titanium (Ti): 2,167 +/- 295 ppm Continue reading below the image. Red TYCO building block – 30 seconds Barium (Ba): 189 +/- 108 ppm Bromine (Br): 19 +/- 3 ppm Iron…

Unifix Math Counting Blocks Teaching Aid from Portland Public Schools: 1330 ppm Cadmium [a known carcinogen.]

Unifix Math Counting Blocks Teaching Aid from Portland Public Schools: 1330 ppm Cadmium [a known carcinogen.]

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A school teacher with Portland Public Schools (in Oregon) anonymously gave me these small plastic snap-together UNIFIX math / teaching aid blocks to test.  She initially had a concern that they might contain something toxic and unsafe for children primarily because of how they smell. Here’s an Amazon link to see this product in the…

#AskTamara: Are New Fisher Price Mega Bloks Lead Free?

#AskTamara: Are New Fisher Price Mega Bloks Lead Free?

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Below are the XRF test results for the new (2017) Fisher Price Mega Bloks pictured here. Lead (Pb): Negative / Non-Detect Mercury (Hg): Negative / Non-Detect Arsenic (As):  Negative / Non-Detect Cadmium (Cd): Negative / Non-Detect Tested with an XRF Instrument. All components were tested including each color block and all components of bag (zipper,…