To see more examples of Rae Dunn pieces Lead Safe Mama has tested, click here.
Read more: Can I test my dishes with a LeadCheck swab?
When tested with an XRF instrument, this ceramic “Rae Dunn Artisan Collection by Magenta” brand “Gulp” coffee mug (Made in China) purchased at a Marshall’s in Portland, Oregon for about $5 each (in August 2018) had the following readings.
Rae Dunn “Gulp” Coffee Mug
Description: The mug has a high gloss finish inside and out. It appears to be a clear finish over a white clay base. The black glazed decorative writing is depressed into the ceramic.
XRF Test Results
Back (glazed) outside white side (no black writing in scope):
- Lead (Pb): 78 +/- 26 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): non-detect (negative within the testing limits of the XRF)
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect (negative within the testing limits of the XRF)
- Arsenic (As): non-detect (negative within the testing limits of the XRF)
- Barium (Ba): 1,858 +/- 153 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 6,714 +/- 316 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 508 +/- 86 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 2,224 +/- 324 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 1,874 +/- 125 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 3,736 +/- 237 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 26,300 +/- 1,000 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): 295 +/- 107 ppm
Section with black writing in scope:
- Lead (Pb): 108 +/- 18 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 426 +/- 60 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): 11,300 +/- 400 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 2,807 +/- 132 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 233 +/- 55 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 2,551 +/- 171 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 11,500 +/- 500 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 62 +/- 17 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 1,004 +/- 101 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): 2,379 +/- 183 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 7,531 +/- 211 ppm
- Platinium (Pt): 199 +/- 62 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 4,908 +/- 289 ppm
This amount of Lead is considered safe by all standards, however, personally I would not want to use it in my home. This is because I am a mother with Lead-poisoned children and I have a “zero tolerance” policy for anything with any amount of Lead in my home (especially in my kitchenware and dishes).
To learn more about the concern for ANY Lead in functional pottery pieces,
click here.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions!
Thank you for reading.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
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).
So if this is “considered safe by all standards “ just you personally wouldn’t use it, why shame other people for doing so. If you personally want to make that call fine… but you don’t need to broadcast it all over the internet and shame others for the choices that they make.
Hi George,
I don’t consider government standards to be strict enough. I believe consumers have a right to have Lead-free dishes and kitchenware. I believe most people expect that their dishes and kitchenware are Lead-free and if they knew these items had any Lead at all they would not have purchased them in the first place. Lead-free alternatives are plentiful, inexpensive and easy to find. Lead is one of the most potent neurotoxins known to man and it does not belong in our kitchen or dining rooms (and it especially does not belong in things like coffee mugs – that we generally used daily, every day, and usually multiple times a day.)
I’m not shaming anyone. I am giving people information (information they might not otherwise have access to) so they can make informed choices for their families. I want to help other parents have a better outcome with their children than I had with mine.
Thanks for commenting George.
For some additional reading that might help address some of your questions:
Here’s a post you might find interesting about the problem with government standards and dishware:
https://tamararubin.com/topics/does-vintage-and-new-functional-pottery-and-dishware-have-unsafe-levels-of-lead/
Here’s a post you might find interesting about potential symptoms of Lead exposure in adults:
https://tamararubin.com/2017/01/what-is-the-impact-of-lead-poisoning-in-adults-including-college-age-students/
Tamara
Mother of a child with permanent brain damage from being Lead poisoned as a baby.
Thank you so much for posting this. I really appreciate having this information available to me. It allows me to make an informed decision. Because I don’t want my kids touching lead even in the smallest amounts, I’m going to get rid of my Rea Dunn mugs. Also if you say you personally won’t use something because of its lead content. I will prob be following in your foot steps. It’s not shaming it’s very helpful. Thanks again.