After much success from its original Stikeez collection in 2019, a new collection was launched in February 2020. Stikeez are Coles “collectable toys for customers to collect, swap and play with.”
Made from soft plastic, the Stikeez are bright in colours. As bright synthetic colours can often be an indication of heavy metals (as they assist in producing vivid shades) we decided to test them using a Portable X-Ray
Fluorescence (XRF) analytical instrument.
We tested:
· Chelsea Chilli
· Wendy Water
· Poppy Plum
To test, we used the Restricted Materials calibration on the Bruker S1 Titan portable XRF with the specific targeting of plastics (as this is the material of the Stikeez). Each Stikee was then individually analysed for 60 seconds.
The restricted materials calibration focusses on detecting heavy metals that are considered harmful when exposed in high concentrations. These heavy metals include cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury, bromine and chromium. Generally, most objects we own will be extremely low in concentration for these restricted materials.
The restricted materials calibration works as follows: If the concentration is high, it was return a FAIL results in red, indicating that there is high levels of contaminants in the object. If it returns a PASS result in green, the object being analysed is safe, and contains no, or extremely low quantities of contaminants.
For this particular test of the three Stikeez, all showed a PASS result indicating they have safe levels of contaminants.
So what's next?
Stikeez returning a PASS result means that they are safe for all members of the family to touch, feel and play with.
We recommend a good dose of play time and enjoy!
Resources
Check out our previous article testing the original collection of Stikeez here:
Utilise our services and have an item/s tested, learn more here:
Learn more about contaminants and their safe quantities here: