When tested with an XRF Instrument the natural stone gray and white marble trivet pictured here had the following readings:
- Iron (Fe): 501 +/- 138 ppm
- No other metals detected.
- Multiple tests were done for a minimum of two-minutes (120 seconds) each to confirm the accuracy of the readings.
As always, thank you for reading and for sharing my posts. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
Does this mean that marble products are generally lead free? I’m thinking of coasters like this: https://amzn.to/2ZmMOeB (Tamara’s aflink)
Hi Nidhi,
Thank you for commenting.
Yes – that’s true – as long as they are plain natural stone and not made of multiple components with other substances that might have Lead (metal decorative elements for example).
Tamara
Thanks for the prompt response! This is a relief! I was suspicious of polish/paint.
You are welcome! I have never seen any that are painted. If you suspect they have a coating, that could be concerning.
T
A good example is the link I shared. They say it is actual marble
But they also use the word “polished” in the description/title. Hard to interpret what it means.
With natural stone – “polished” just normally means “made smooth” (not finished at all).
Oh that’s great. Thanks so much. Your website has been so helpful!
Hi! I recently ordered a lead test kit from Amazon. Not sure how reliable those are, but I was curious about the paint on our walls since our home was built in the 50’s. I swabbed several walls and all of them were negative for lead. Most of our windows have marble window sills so I swabbed those out of curiosity. These were positive. I am very concerned because my toddler age son loves to look out the window and touches these window sills often. Are these swab kits reliable? Is there some kind of varnish that I could put on the window sills to seal the lead in? Should I have my son tested for lead? Please help!
Hi Ashley – walls in a 1950 home are normally negative for Lead (although that varies a bit depending on what part of the world you are in.) It is very rare for marble to have Lead – and even more rare for the amount of Lead in the marble to be high enough that it would test positive with a LeadCheck Swab. Are you certain you used the swab correctly? Did you use a LeadCheck brand swab (the off-brand ones are not reliable.) If you have any question about using the swab there are several videos on my YouTube channel demonstrating how to use them. Here’s one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6w-fy7l8JX8
Also this is the brand I trust and use myself: https://tamararubin.com/2017/05/leadcheck/
Given you do live in a pre-1978 house I would definitely get everyone tested regardless of the state of the window sills.
Here’s one post about that:
https://tamararubin.com/2019/02/blood-lead-testing-please-get-everyone-in-the-family-tested-since-you-have-been-living-in-a-house-with-high-lead-paint/
Here’s another:
https://tamararubin.com/2017/01/if-a-doctor-says-your-babys-blood-lead-level-is-normal-get-a-new-doctor-theres-no-normal-level-of-lead-in-blood/
And you might also find this helpful:
https://tamararubin.com/2021/07/how-quickly-after-exposure-is-lead-detectable-in-my-childs-blood-what-is-the-half-life-of-lead-in-blood-how-long-does-lead-stay-in-the-body/
Tamara
Do you think natural stone marble would be a good option for a cutting block?
Hi Tamara,
I have a “marble chain link decor” that is supposedly made of marble. There is a prop 65 warning that states the product contains lead. How can this be? Also, a while back, one of children dropped it and it chipped. Is it safe to have around the home or is it unsafe because it has been chipped?
This is the exact item I own:
https://www.michaels.com/product/bloomingville-13-decorative-marble-chain-link-figurine-D712500S
Do you still accept items for testing?
Thank you!