HDX 1000 – Analyzer for toxic metals in toys

@NYC Toy Fair 2009 – There were a few dozen “lead testing” companies, but I think I liked the HDX 1000 lead tester from XOS the most… It’s a portable X-Ray machine for the most part and their interface / set up seemed pretty solid.

XOS, a manufacturer of x-ray analytical equipment and x-ray optics introduces the HDX 1000 Toy Analyzer, powered by our High Definition X-Ray Fluorescence (HD XRF) technology. The new HDX 1000 Toy Analyzer is a cost-effective way to quantify lead well below 90 ppm in painted surfaces, ensuring your products meet new global regulations. The HDX 1000 features the ability to distinguish paint layers from base material, small spot capabilities, low limits of detection for 10 toxic metals, and non-destructive measurements. All our analyzers are very easy to operate and are designed for use in factories, independent test labs, retail outlets, and inventory warehouses.

On a related note, in China the head of the toy company that caused all these problems a couple years ago with with lead paint in Mattel’s toys committed suicide. There were a lot of reports saying it was “suicide or execution” – with all the banking hijinks and the recent deaths from contaminated peanuts here in the USA it’s interesting to note our very different systems and social pressures when things go incredible bad.