1980s Vintage Pyrex Trailing Flowers - Beige Casserole Dish: 253,900 ppm Lead + 12,100 ppm Cadmium + 8,801 ppm Arsenic

Vintage Pyrex “Trailing Flowers – Beige” 1980s Promotional Design Milk Glass Casserole Dish.

When tested with an XRF instrument this casserole dish had the following readings:

With scope focused on one of the rust colored flowers:
(minimum 60-second test)

Lead (Pd): 253,900 +/- 11,000 ppm
Cadmium (Cd): 12,100 +/- 600 ppm
Arsenic (As): 8,801 +/- 776 ppm
Barium (Ba): 2,186 +/- 407 ppm
Chromium (Cr): 7,270 +/- 510 ppm
Antimony (Sb): 1,497 +/- 166 ppm
Selenium (Se): 1,001 +/- 118 ppm
Tin (Sn): 266 +/- 85 ppm
Gold (Au): 312 +/- 139 ppm
Zinc (Zn): 18,400 +/- 800 ppm
Iron (Fe): 2,585 +/- 228 ppm
Titanium (Ti): 11,000 +/- 1,300 ppm
If a metal is not listed then it was not detected.

(continue reading below the image)

With scope focused on the beige background:

Lead (Pd): 94,800 +/- 3,800 ppm
Cadmium (Cd): 435 +/- 47 ppm
Antimony (Sb): 243 +/- 56 ppm
Gold (Au): 645 +/- 281 ppm
Zinc (Zn): 18,300 +/- 800 ppm
Titanium (Ti): 19,500 +/- 1,200 ppm
Zirconium (Zr): 3,579 +/- 213 ppm
Platinum (Pt): 1,378 +/- 317 ppm

With scope focused on the white milk glass:

Lead (Pd): 431 +/- 38 ppm
Bromine (Br): 45 +/- 10 ppm
Zinc (Zn): 76,700 +/- 2,100 ppm
Iron (Fe): 958 +/- 156 ppm
Titanium (Ti): 384 +/- 120 ppm
Platinum (Pt): 542 +/- 198 ppm

To see more Pyrex items I have tested click here.

The amount of lead that is considered toxic to children in a newly manufactured item intended specifically for use by children is anything 90 ppm and higher (in the coating.) Vintage dishware is not regulated at all for “total lead content as detectable with an XRF” and neither is modern dishware (yet.) [Isn’t it interesting that it was positive for gold and platinum!] NOTE: The outside paint on many of these vintage Pyrex pieces will also test positive with a reactive agent test (like a LeadCheck swab: http://amzn.to/2DfE3ER affiliate link).

Take away: if you can avoid having vintage Pyrex in your home (especially for functional applications/ daily use), I would highly recommend that.

Here is a link to a post on my site with lead-free modern casserole dishes:

https://tamararubin.com/2017/10/casseroles/

Do you appreciate my independent consumer goods testing and childhood lead poisoning prevention advocacy work? If so, please consider contributing to my GoFundMe, to help me to continue to be in a position to do this kind of testing: Thank you! https://www.gofundme.com/leadsafemama

Thank you for reading and for sharing my posts.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama