New (2015) 12 inch floor tile: 2,429 ppm lead & 1481 ppm arsenic.
*** Even in 2017 floor tiles are not regulated***
The amount of lead that is considered unsafe (and illegal) in an item intended for children, is anything 90 ppm lead and higher. Floor tiles – while likely used and interacted with by children every day (especially crawling babies!) – are not considered “items intended for children.”
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Tile Front:
Tile Back:
Will tile show lead if tested with a store bought test kit?
Not generally. Most tile and ceramic items need to be tested with an XRF instrument to determine the presence of lead.
This is a good post with information about that: https://tamararubin.com/2017/02/leadcheck-dishware/
We weren’t home when my husband demolished the tile in the kitchen, but it was this basic stuff. There is still a considerable amount of dust in the house–on surfaces and such. Should I go as far as to use a wet cloth and clean the walls or just focus on the surfaces? I’m super worried, since my child is still very young. Thanks.
Hi There,
Yes I would:
!) Wet wipe down all surfaces with dust and wash everything you can. I like to use disposable wipes like Clorox Wipes or Lysol Wipes because 1) they are disposable and won’t contaminate your laundry and 2) they have surfactants in them that have been proven to clean up lead dust.
2) I would also consider staying in a hotel with the kids for at least night or two while the clean up is done, AND
3) I would do clearance testing with dust wipe sampling (and make sure the home passes clearance testing before moving back in.) You can hire a local professional hazard assessor to do this for you OR you can order dust wipe samples you can do yourself (and have them sent to a lab) from a company like http://www.CertifiedKit.com.
Tamara
I didn’t know about lead when we put new tile all above the bathtub. Assuming it has lead, is it safe for kids to be around it if it’s not cracked? Same question for the kitchen backsplash…Thank thank!