Toys Archives - Lead Safe Mama

XRF Test Results for Vintage 1972 Blonde Quick Curl Steffie Barbie Doll: Not Safe For Kids

August 3, 2023August 4, 2023

Published: August 3, 2023 Thursday Below are the full XRF test results for the Vintage Barbie Doll pictured. I do not know if this is an original / period vintage dress for this doll. The doll was purchased on eBay. Note: There was no warning on eBay – nor is one required – that this…

Is your Barbie safe for your kids to play with? A discussion on the concern for unsafe levels of Lead (& other toxicants) in vintage Barbie dolls

July 18, 2023September 28, 2023

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For those new to this website: Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead-poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (a scientific method used by…

XRF test results for antique Blue Willow style Transor Ware Japanese porcelain child’s tea set

October 22, 2022May 17, 2024

For those new to the Lead Safe Mama website: Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her four sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama,…

XRF test results for porcelain child’s tea set purchased at a Cracker Barrel store in 2022

October 19, 2022May 17, 2024

For those new to the Lead Safe Mama website: Tamara Rubin is a multiple-federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her four sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama,…

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

February 24, 2020March 22, 2020

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!

February 23, 2020February 23, 2020

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…

Blue vintage (1990s?) Duplo building block – by Lego: Lead-free, Cadmium-free, Arsenic-free, Mercury-free!

February 23, 2020

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Blue Block – 30 second reading Barium (Ba): 198 +/- 108 ppm Copper (Cu): 538 +/- 28 ppm Iron (Fe): 38 +/- 24 ppm Titanium (Ti): 8,650 +/- 480 ppm This piece is discussed in detail on this video – link here. I will update this post shortly, but just wanted to start by making sure the XRF readings were…

Green shooter marble (Marble King brand, previously sold & marketed as Lead-free): 1,375 ppm Lead (+ Cadmium too).

February 10, 2020March 26, 2021

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Above photos shows a small Marble King brand green-swirl “cat’s eye” marble (randomly positive for 175 ppm Lead) next to a large Marble King brand green-swirl “cat’s eye” shooter (randomly positive for 1375 ppm Lead). Please note the level of Lead is not dependent on the size of the marble. – Photos by Avi B….

2019 light up unicorn bath toy. Negative for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Arsenic & Antimony in all accessible components.

November 22, 2019

When tested with an XRF instrument this little unicorn bath light up toy (link*) had the following reading: 1) Pink hair of unicorn: Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative Barium (Ba): 62 +/- 39 ppm Bromine…

2019 light up mermaid bath toy. Negative for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Arsenic & Antimony in all accessible components.

November 22, 2019November 22, 2019

When tested with an XRF instrument this little mermaid bath light up toy (link*) had the following reading: 1) Pink tail of mermaid Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative Antimony (Sb): Non-Detect / Negative Barium (Ba): 118 +/- 40 ppm Bromine…

1986 Dor Mei Toys Spinosaurus: 5,341 ppm Lead. 90 ppm and up is considered illegal and unsafe for toys made today.

August 30, 2019August 30, 2019

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 1986 “Dor Mei”…

Another reason to avoid vintage toys – 1985 Imperial Toys T-Rex: 7,872 ppm Lead. This would be illegal if made today.

August 30, 2019December 26, 2021

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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 1985 “Imperial Toys”…

Another reason to avoid vintage toys — toy triceratops: 6,298 ppm Lead. This would be illegal if made today.

August 30, 2019July 13, 2023

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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)…

1990 Mirage Studios Playmates Toys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Figurine: Lead Free, Cadmium Free, Arsenic Free!

May 28, 2019

Every single color of this little Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figurine was tested and not one of them was positive for anything bad (from the standpoint of XRF detectable metals discoverable in consumer goods mode). This figurine from 1990 was negative / non-detect for the following metals when tested with an XRF instrument: Cadmium Lead…

1988 Mirage Studios Playmates Toys (Made in Macao) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Raphael Figurine: Lead Free

May 28, 2019May 28, 2019

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Every single color of this little Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figurine was tested and not one of them was positive for anything bad (from the standpoint of XRF detectable metals discoverable in consumer goods mode). This figurine from 1988 was negative / non-detect for the following metals when tested with an XRF instrument: Cadmium Lead…

Larami Toys brachiosaurus toy dinosaur: 2,213 ppm Lead, 2,721 ppm Antimony. This toy would be illegal if made today.

April 18, 2019April 18, 2019

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Scroll down to see additional images, including picture of Dino next to Lego-guy for size! 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….

Avi’s 8th Grade Science Class Experiment: “How does the elemental composition of glass marbles affect their color?”

March 27, 2019June 18, 2019

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Photos by Avi B. Rubin, age 14 (8th grade science, Sellwood Middle School) Below each marble image is the full XRF test result for that particular color (& style) marble. These marbles are all from the manufacturer Marble King. Important points to note: A Niton XL3T XRF instrument was used for this testing. All testing…

Discovery Kids 2017 DCL “MerchSource” Magnetic Tile Toys: 18 +/- 2 ppm Arsenic (in the metal hollow rivets.)

March 25, 2019December 28, 2021

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Originally published: March 25, 2019 Updated: March 18, 2020 Discovery Toys MagnaTile® knockoffs When tested with an XRF instrument, the metal hollow rivets on these MerchSource MagnaTile® knockoffs (by Discovery Toys / DiscoveryKids) are positive for Arsenic. This is consistent with all magnetic tile toys of this nature that I have tested (all of the…

1989 DC Comics Superman Figurine: Lead-Free, Cadmium-Free, Arsenic-Free!!! :-)

January 5, 2019May 26, 2019

Given the amount of wear on this Superman figurine (along with the year made – 1989, and the fact that it was made in China) it makes sense that the owner was concerned that it may test positive for Lead. However a pleasant surprise … this little guy was negative for Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic and…

1984 Vintage Fisher Price Little People Yellow School Bus: 2,953 ppm Lead + 344 ppm Arsenic. Did you have this one?

December 25, 2018December 26, 2018

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Vintage Fisher Price Little People Yellow School Bus Toy, c. 1984. Yellow & Red Plastic. To see more vintage Fisher Price items I have tested, click here. The XRF test results for this exact item (pictured above) are as follows: Yellow Plastic of School Bus: (tested for a minimum of 60 seconds) Lead (Pb): 2,953 +/- 59 ppm…

And the winner is…. Click here to see the full XRF test results for the vintage Fisher Price Garage!

December 7, 2018

5 Comments

The other day we had a little contest… who could guess the closest Lead reading (in ppm) for what the highest Lead level on this vintage Fisher Price toy garage / downtown set would be? THE ANSWER: The highest Lead level was 1,959 ppm (in the yellow plastic) and the winner (with a guess of…

Giant Blue Glass Marble: 60 ppm Cadmium, 366 ppm Arsenic

November 11, 2018December 28, 2023

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This is a newer (c. 2015) large translucent blue glass marble with an iridescent rainbow finish. Given the nature of the way most colored glass is commonly produced, many marbles (and especially those with iridescent finishes) do have at least some level of detectable toxicants when tested with an XRF instrument. Some actually have quite…

Vintage Fisher Price Little People Yellow Train Car: 3,261 ppm Lead (90 is unsafe for kids) + 304 ppm Arsenic Too!

October 3, 2018June 8, 2019

Vintage Fisher Price Little People Yellow Train Car Toy. Yellow & Black Plastic. Year of Manufacture Unknown (presumed c. 1970s). To see more vintage Fisher Price items I have tested, click here. The XRF test results for this exact item (pictured above) are as follows: Yellow Plastic of Train Car: Lead (Pb): 3,261 +/- 50…

Vintage Fisher Price Little People Hobby Horse Toy

September 30, 2018

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This vintage Fisher Price Little People white hobby horse toy had the following XRF readings: Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect (Negative) Arsenic (As): Non-Detect (Negative) Lead (Pb): Non-Detect (Negative) Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect (Negative) I don’t know the year of manufacture of this particular piece, however to have a vintage Fisher Price toy that is free of all…