Re: Testing toys for poison

On Aug 15, 11:41 am, cho...@xxxxxxxxx (Rusty Oxhide) wrote:
I want to buy some toys made in China for "Toys for Tots" holiday season
US Marine charity drive. I am retired, low-income with some science
background, but not a chemist. How do I test the toys for poisonous
chemicals including lead?


You can't do it cheaply ... and in todays world ... you do need
assurances ... people are crazy ... the recent newsreports illustrate
this ... I'm amazed at the panic and outrage ...
But, if you are over 40 ... you and you peers played with plenty of
toys ... with all sorts of pigments ... containing lead ...
cadmium ... chromium ... cyanide ...

and

I doubt any of your playmates suffered any ill effects ... maybe the
problem is greatly overblown ... maybe that generation is just
tougher ... or smart enough not to eat the paint ...

Take the amount of paint on any of these recalled toys ... count how
much lead is in it that paint ... figure out how much of that lead
would be assimilated even if all of it were eaten ...
Then figure out how much lead need be ingested ... to poison
someone ...
divide the numbers ...
how many toys did the parents buy their kid ... ???

I'll give you a clue ... no where near enough to cause this panic ...
Great fears ... little risks ... but today ... the great fears
rule ...


.

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