Talk Show "Set Mugs" Series (Used By Hosts & Guests) Today Show: 830 ppm Cadmium (75 is illegal in Denmark)

When tested with an XRF instrument, this orange and white Today Show official set mug had the following readings:

White on outside of mug:

Lead (Pb): 88 +/- 23 ppm [considered safe by all standards.]
Cadmium (Cd): Negative / Non-detect
Arsenic (As): Negative / Non-detect
Mercury (Hg): Negative / Non-detect
Antimony (Sb): Negative / Non-detect
Barium (Ba): 2,653 +/- 162 ppm
Zinc (Zn): 15,500 +/- 600 ppm
Copper (Cu): 313 +/- 66 ppm
Iron (Fe): 953 +/- 217 ppm
Vanadium (V): 3,288 +/- 191 ppm
Titanium (Ti): 6,774 +/- 374 ppm
Zirconium (Zr): 16,900 +/- 600 ppm
Second Lead Reading: 108 +/- 23 ppm

Orange “rainbow” on outside of mug:

Same reading set (similar range for all elements noted) as base white of outside.

Black “Today” text on outside of mug:

Lead (Pb): 90 +/- 24 ppm
Barium (Ba): 2,858 +/- 176 ppm
Zinc (Zn): 14,700 +/- 500 ppm
Copper (Cu): 439 +/- 75 ppm
Iron (Fe): 900 +/- 218 ppm
Zirconium (Zr): 17,500 +/- 600 ppm

Orange glazed inside (food surface) of mug:

Cadmium (Cd): 830 +/- 69 ppm
Barium (Ba): 2,198 +/- 209 ppm
Zinc (Zn): 27,000 +/- 1,200 ppm
Copper (Cu): 562 +/- 120 ppm
Iron (Fe): 1,082 +/- 301 ppm
Vanadium (V): 1,000 +/- 109 ppm
Titanium (Ti): 1,750 +/- 177 ppm
Zirconium (Zr): 23,000 +/- 1,100 ppm

Any additional metals not listed were not detected. As with all posts on this blog, all tests were done with a Niton XL3T XRF instrument in “Consumer Goods” mode, for at least 60 seconds [unless otherwise noted]. Results are science based and replicable.

Is Cadmium a problem?

Note: just because the mug tests POSITIVE for CADMIUM (a known carcinogen / known to cause cancer) that does not mean it is definitely leaching Cadmium. In fact, newer mugs are likely tested for leaching of toxicants (at the time of manufacture).

My big concern is what happens with a mug over it’s entire life span; not whether or not it is leaching just at the time of manufacture, but is it leaching after years of extensive daily heavy use – with acidic and hot beverages (normal, anticipated use for a coffee mug). Leach-testing is only performed – and those results relevant – at the time of manufacture. Mugs have been shown to leach over time with more use as they age (despite the fact that they may not have leached any toxicants when tested at the time of initial manufacture!)

Accordingly, I would personally avoid this mug, would not drink out of it if you offered me coffee in it once — and definitely would not have one in my own home. Hopefully, now that this information is available, “The Today Show” might choose to make safer choices for the mugs for their hosts and guests.

To reiterate why I am doing these posts:

While “Toxicants In On-Set Talk-Show Mugs” is obviously an absurdly arcane and limited “consumer product concern”… I thought it might be a fun “conversation-starter”; I wanted to get the attention of talk show hosts on the real issue: the continued widespread use of neurotoxic heavy metals (like Lead and Cadmium) in mass-marketed manufactured consumer goods — so that I could hopefully draw their attention to the fact that, for instance, I have found many newly-manufactured BABY BOTTLES with Lead in them in the past 2+ years, yet – incredibly – no regulatory agency is doing anything about those findings — nor have any recalls been initiated as a result of those findings!

I know the “news cycle” has a short attention span, and there’s undeniably a LOT of crazy and troubling stuff to report on these days, but come on — if LEAD-PAINTED logos and other markings on freakin’ BABY BOTTLES in 2019 isn’t worthy of a few minutes of serious journalistic attention, just what the heck is?!

To see all of my posts about Leaded baby bottles, click here.

To see more talk show set mugs I have tested (and to read my original post about why I decided to test talk show set mugs), click here.

To see more mugs I have tested, click here.

For my #SaferChoices for mugs and guidelines on picking out a non-toxic coffee mug, click here.

As always, thank you so much for reading and for sharing my posts.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama

Each of the “Set Mugs” in this series was purchased directly from the gift store for the show in question (and based on my research is the official mug for the current 2019 season.)