Modern Handmade Japanese Ceramic Dishes Example #6: 37 ppm Lead + 4 ppm Cadmium. Safe by all standards.

July 24, 2021 – Saturday
Introduction:

Tamara Rubin is an independent advocate for consumer goods safety, and she is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children. She began testing consumer goods for toxicants in 2009, and was the parent-advocate responsible for finding Lead in the popular fidget spinner toys in 2017. She uses XRF testing (a scientific method used by the Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for metallic toxicants (including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury and Arsenic). To read more about the testing methodology employed for the test results reported on this blog, please click this link.

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The test results of most of the consumer goods shared on this blog are from items that have been sent in by my readers for testing and reporting. I share them with you to help you make informed decisions for your family (so you can have an idea of what to look for [and what you might want to avoid] in making safer choices for your home.)

Reading #1.) XRF test results for the dish pictured – Brown Glaze
60-second minimum test (repeated multiple times to confirm the results)

• Lead (Pb): 28 +/- 4 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): 4 +/- 2 ppm
• Chromium (Cr): 804 +/- 110 ppm
• Manganese (Mn): 4,982 +/- 133 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 17,800 +/- 200 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 117 +/- 13 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 224 +/- 11 ppm
• Zirconium (Zr): 2,544 +/- 27 ppm
• Barium (Ba): 234 +/- 13 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): 39 +/- 12 ppm
• Bismuth (Bi): 14 +/- 4 ppm

Reading #2.) XRF test results for the dish pictured – Black Glaze
60-second minimum test (repeated multiple times to confirm the results)

• Lead (Pb): 19 +/- 3 ppm
• Cadmium (Cd): 4 +/- 2 ppm
• Chromium (Cr): 27,200 +/- 300 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 44,300 +/- 400 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 448 +/- 14 ppm
• Barium (Ba): 202 +/- 13 ppm
• Bismuth (Bi): 20 +/- 3 ppm

Reading #3.) XRF test results for the dish pictured – White Glaze
60-second minimum test (repeated multiple times to confirm the results)

• Lead (Pb): 27 +/- 3 ppm
• Manganese (Mn): 5,682 +/- 133 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 5,464 +/- 103 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 69 +/- 10 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 241 +/- 10 ppm
• Zirconium (Zr): 2,339 +/- 23 ppm
• Barium (Ba): 215 +/- 23 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): 59 +/- 12 ppm
• Bismuth (Bi): 19 +/- 3 ppm

Reading #4.) XRF test results for the dish pictured – Unglazed Back Edge
60-second minimum test (repeated multiple times to confirm the results)

• Lead (Pb): 37 +/- 4 ppm
• Chromium (Cr): 619 +/- 102 ppm
• Manganese (Mn): 2,559 +/- 96 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 7,620 +/- 119 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 23 +/- 9 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): 183 +/- 9 ppm
• Zirconium (Zr): 1,163 +/- 12 ppm
• Barium (Ba): 287 +/- 12 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): 37 +/- 11 ppm
• Bismuth (Bi): 21 +/- 3 ppm

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Some additional reading that might be of interest:

• The post discussing the testing methodology used on this website
• Post discussing how to send in an item for testing
• Things that you can test at home.
• Things that might be better tested with an XRF instrument.
• “Can I test dishes myself at home?”

Thanks for reading. Thank you for sharing my posts. As always, please let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to answer them personally as soon as I have a moment (which may not be right away – but I will try!)

Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama

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