2003 Blue Glass Ball Christmas Ornament: 748 ppm Lead (90 is unsafe for kids) + 148 ppm Arsenic, too

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#LeadedChristmas
Glass blue ball Christmas ornament
Dated: December 20, 2003
(This was a wedding favor at a Christmas wedding my friend attended.)

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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 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic). All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable. Items are tested multiple times to confirm the test results for each component tested. Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February of 2023 (March 2023 print edition).

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When tested with an XRF instrument, this ornament had the following readings:

• Lead (Pb): 748 +/- 54 ppm
• Arsenic (As): 158 +/- 40 ppm 
• Cadmium (Cd): Negative / Non-Detect
• Mercury (Hg): Negative / Non-Detect
  

To learn more about XRF testing, click HERE.

These levels are not uncommon in Christmas ornaments and the levels of toxicants on this particular ornament are actually quite low compared to many vintage ornaments you may still have in your family’s collection.

In general, glass ornaments are a good thing to stay away from if you want to avoid toxicants like Lead, Arsenic, and Cadmium. Plus — OMG — they always break and make a mess anyway, right?

To see more Christmas items I have tested, click HERE.

I have noticed, however, that newer ornaments from the Dollar stores, Target, and even from Michael’s, may be Lead-free (but I cannot guarantee it and will not recommend any specific ones right now since there is so very much to test before drawing any conclusions across the board).

In the newer ornaments, the elements I also have found to often test positive for Lead are the little metal cap and hook at the top of each ornament (even when the rest of the ornament is free of toxicants).

Ornaments are specifically marketed and labeled as being “not toys,” and “not for use by children.” As a result, they are not breaking any sort of law or regulation by containing toxicants like Lead and Arsenic even though (in homes with young children), more often than not, the children are handling them.

Personally, I favor hand-made decorations to celebrate the holidays, but there are Lead-free options to purchase out there if you look for them (and they may have a much more rustic, hand-made look than the glitz and glimmer of some of the more toxic options). New modern ornaments that are less likely to have Lead might be:

• Ornaments made of cloth and ribbon
• Ornaments made of natural materials like shells, seeds or pinecones
• Ornaments made of wood
• Baked cookie ornaments (that are lacquered)
• Many new plastic ornaments (the ones that come in the tubes)
• Hand-made ceramic ornaments

Ornaments that are more likely to be Leaded:

• Glass ornaments
• Wire ornaments (including ones with rubber coated wire)
• Vintage ornaments
• Brass ornaments
• Crystal ornaments

If anyone is up for a new business idea, starting a Lead-free Christmas ornament company might be just what is needed now that consumer awareness is coming around to this concern.

Here’s a Lead-free Christmas decoration option on Amazon.*

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For #SaferChoices for your family, click here.

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As always, thank you for reading and for sharing this work.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama

*Some of the links on this page may be Amazon Affiliate links where a purchase made after clicking will support this website without costing you extra!