#AskTamara Question: Do dragon tears have lead? Answer: Some do and some do not. Given the nature of the way most colored glass is commonly produced, many dragon tears do have at least some lead, and some have quite high amounts of lead — at levels considered dangerous for children by current/modern regulatory standards. [Even […]
#AskTamara: Question: Are my kids’ crayons toxic? Which brand of crayons is safe? Answer: Yes, it is very possible that one or more crayons in your child’s crayon box contain some detectable level of heavy metals when tested with an XRF instrument. In fact – while I have not tested all brands (I have only tested […]
Do you remember these Sesame Street Friends from when you were a child? I do! (From friend’s houses! My mom never got us toys like this! We were so jealous of all of the other kids who had plastic toys!) Click on their names to see how much lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury each of […]
Vintage (c. 1970s) Fisher Price Sesame Street Grover Monster: Lead (Pb): ND (non-detect) Cadmium (Cd): ND (non-detect) Mercury (Hg): ND (non-detect) Arsenic (As): ND (non-detect) Please check out the other Sesame Street things I have tested here! Please check out more of the vintage Fisher Price toys I have tested here! Thanks for reading! As always, please […]
Vintage (c. 1970s) Fisher Price Sesame Street Ernie: Red body: Lead (Pb): 30 +/- 13 ppm Cadmium (Cd): 3,153 +/- 65 ppm. Orange head: Lead (Pb): ND (non-detect) Cadmium (Cd): 3,394 +/- 74 ppm. Due to the very high cadmium levels this would not be considered a safe toy for a child by modern standards. […]
Vintage (c. 1970s?) Fisher Price Sesame Street Bert… Green body: Lead (Pb): 5,015 +/- 103 ppm Arsenic (As): 120 +/- 56 ppm Cadmium (Cd): ND (non-detect/negative) Mercury (Hg): ND (non-detect/negative) Face: Lead (Pb): ND (non-detect/negative) Cadmium (Cd) 35 +/- 10 ppm Arsenic: ND (non-detect/negative) Mercury (Hg): ND (non-detect/negative) All components non-detect (negative) for Mercury This toy would NOT be […]
Vintage Fisher Price Sesame Street Lady… (not sure if this is supposed to be Maria or not!) Hair: 28 +/- 6 ppm lead. This amount of lead is considered safe by all standards. All other components: Non-detect for Cadmium, Lead, Arsenic & Mercury. Please check out the other Sesame Street things I have tested here! […]
This is a set of Bauer Vintage Celadon Pottery, Made In Los Angeles and purchased at an antique store in Portland, Oregon in 2017. When tested with an XRF instrument each of the pieces tested positive for the elements at the levels shown below. Note: the lead levels below are VERY HIGH, and I would […]
This little yellow plate was purchased at an antique store in Oregon in 2018. While there is not a maker’s mark on the back of the dish, the store owner had researched the plate and came up with this description: Vintage Yellow Ceramic Harlequin by Homer Laughlin Co. Fiesta Plate, c. 1938-1960 When tested with an […]
August 2018 – Yet another Ceramcor Xtrema “Lead-Free” Pan, positive for lead. Purchased direct from the company, c. November of 2016. These pans are advertised and promoted as being metals-free, and specifically as being lead-free — yet when they are tested with an XRF instrument the coatings have consistently tested positive for lead, as well as several […]
