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). Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February 2023 (March 2023 print edition).

“Quick” summary points:

It is rare to find coatings on modern stainless water bottles that test positive for Lead and Arsenic.
Most modern (in the past 10 years) water bottle coatings I have tested have been negative for all of the primary heavy metal toxicants I look for in my work (Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, Arsenic, and Antimony).
This water bottle is an exception.
While the metal of the bottle itself is negative for these toxicants, the green and red lettering test positive for high levels of both Lead and Arsenic. As expected (given the findings of these metals), the areas with more layers of color (a thicker application of the colored coating material) test positive for higher levels of Lead and Arsenic.
This is also concerning because the paint is worn in many places on the bottle. If a coating like this wears, logically it is most likely wearing off onto the hands (and into the environment) of the user.

Note:

The manufacturer of this product was made aware of these findings last year (November 2019) and it is my understanding that they are working to correct the problem.

Here’s a link to a good choice for a Lead-free single-walled stainless steel water bottle (as an alternative): https://amzn.to/2YqMAkX (aflink)*

Are you new here?

For those new to my website, please check out the menu in the header of the website for more information about how I test things (and my background, etc.) On each article, you can also click on any of the keyword tabs at the top of the page to find more items in that category. Here’s the piece discussing the type of testing I do, and the specific instrument I use to detect, analyze, and confirm metals content, and ultimately produce the resultant data for each item reported here — linked.

Are the results reported below accurate?

Test results reported below are science-based, accurate, and replicable. Test results reported here are from tests that were done for a minimum of 60 seconds each (unless otherwise noted), and repeated multiple times, to confirm the results. As with all the testing reported here on the website, a freshly calibrated high-precision XRF instrument testing in Consumer Goods mode was used to test the item pictured here.

Some additional reading:

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

Thank you for reading and for sharing Lead Safe Mama’s work!

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama

“My Green Canteen” — XRF Test Results

Focus on Red:

Lead (Pb): 3,509 +/- 531 ppm
Arsenic (As): 755 +/- 387 ppm
Chromium (Cr): 144,600 +/- 11,000 ppm
Copper (Cu): 1,743 +/- 801 ppm
Nickel (Ni): 50,200 +/- 4,600 ppm
Iron (Fe): 622,200 +/- 50,000 ppm
Chlorine (Cl): 39,800 +/- 6,300 ppm

Focus on the Green area (tree design):

Lead (Pb): 15,900 +/- 1,700 ppm
Arsenic (As): 2,983 +/- 873 ppm
Chromium (Cr): 123,800 +/- 10,000 ppm
Copper (Cu): 1,767 +/- 822 ppm
Nickel (Ni): 44,200 +/- 4,300 ppm
Iron (Fe): 525,600 +/- 45,000 ppm
Chlorine (Cl): 9,471 +/- 3,500 ppm

Focus on Green & Red Layered area:

Lead (Pb): 20,900 +/- 1,500 ppm
Arsenic (As): 3,481 +/- 648 ppm
Chromium (Cr): 103,700 +/- 6,000 ppm
Selenium (Se): 177 +/- 110 ppm
Copper (Cu): 1,313 +/- 508 ppm
Nickel (Ni): 39,400 +/- 2,600 ppm
Iron (Fe): 476,400 +/- 28,000 ppm
Vanadium (V): 1,642 +/- 610 ppm
Chlorine (Cl): 60,100 +/- 6,200 ppm

Focus on Bare metal:

Chromium (Cr): 161,500 +/- 14,000 ppm
Selenium (Se): 308 +/- 182 ppm
Copper (Cu): 2,303 +/- 951 ppm
Nickel (Ni): 55,500 +/- 5,700 ppm
Iron (Fe): 680,300 +/- 62,000 ppm
Bismuth (Bi): 174 +/- 98 ppm

*Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on one of our links, Lead Safe Mama, LLC may receive a small percentage of what you spend at no extra cost to you.