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 of 2023 (March 2023 print edition).
Why we do what we do here at Lead Safe Mama, LLC
- YOU have a right to know what’s in the products in your home (including your paint and building materials.)
- YOU have a right to make informed decisions for your family and community.
- Through this work, together we can hold corporate America accountable for:
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- a lack of transparency (for example, companies secretly changing their materials used in manufacturing and not making a public statement and not issuing public recalls for previously sold Leaded (or otherwise toxic) products),
- mistakes made out of ignorance (like not knowing their product has Lead (or other toxicants) and selling it as “Lead free” (or non-toxic) without doing comprehensive appropriate testing – testing required for each and every component and coating in order to make that determination)
- & for outright lies (like continuing to market things as Lead-free (or non-toxic) even when they now know the product has Lead).
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Ways to support this work…
The work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC is a collaborative effort with our readers, friends, and social media followers. Readers (like you!) help direct what we test and report on here on the LeadSafeMama.com / TamaraRubin.com website and readers (also like you!) chip in to help cover the cost of the testing as well. Here are the different ways you can make an impact in supporting this work!
- FREE; Reading and Sharing Lead Safe Mama Articles: Readers can support the work at no cost by sharing the articles and pages of the website with your social media networks and communities (we earn about 1 cent per page view from our marketing contracts… and nearly twice that during the holiday season). (About 25% of our business income comes from folks reading the pages of this site!)
- FREE: Lead Safe Mama Advocacy Cards: Ask us to send you some “Lead Safe Mama Advocacy Cards” to give out in your community. They are business card size cards with pictures of objects many people might find familiar (objects that are all very high in Lead) … with the words “Do your dishes have unsafe levels of Lead? Find out at LeadSafeMama.com” on them. The goal behind these cards is to give you a tool to start conversations with folks for whom the images of these very familiar [Very Toxic] objects may resonate. Email us (at TamaraRubin@mac.com) to request some free advocacy cards & a volunteer will send them right out to you! Please put CARD REQUEST in the subject line and your mailing address in the body of the e-mail. Thank you!
- FREE (no extra cost to you): Amazon Shopping: Readers can support the work (also at no extra cost) by starting their Amazon shopping with a click on a Lead Safe Mama Amazon Affiliate link (like this one). You don’t need to buy what we recommend for Lead Safe Mama, LLC to earn a percentage of what you spend (again, at no extra cost to you!) – just start your Amazon shopping with a click on one of our links and we may earn a percentage of your whole Amazon order (usually in the range of 3 to 6%.) Unfortunately, there is no way to set us as a default (to earn a percentage each time you shop on Amazon), but readers have shared that they save one of our website articles with an affiliate link (like this page) as a favorite and just go to that page and click the link before they start their shopping each time. Here’s a random Lead Safe Mama, LLC affiliate link: https://amzn.to/3iOFoJw (About 25% of our business income is through affiliate link purchases each month.)
- FREE (no extra cost to you!): Shop on ShopLeadSafeMama.com: You can also choose to shop on Amazon via our (newish) sister website ShopLeadSafeMama.com, which only has links to Lead-free choices! (Earnings through this site are part of the 25% in affiliate income noted above.)
- FREE: Join the Lead Poisoning Prevention with Lead Safe Mama Facebook group!
- FREE: Subscribe to the Lead Safe Mama e-mail newsletter!
- $35.00 (+ shipping): Send an item in for testing and reporting on the website (this gets you information to help your family, but also helps countless other families who have the same product or a similar product!) Note: this is a subsidized amount and does not cover the full cost of the testing and reporting – please follow the instructions on the link highlighted in blue on this bullet point before sending something in. Thank you.
- ANY AMOUNT -Make a direct contribution: See below for ways to make a direct contribution in support of this work. Contributions help to cover the cost of the independent consumer goods testing and childhood Lead poisoning prevention outreach work we do here at Lead Safe Mama, LLC. All contributions (through all contribution pathways) are reported as income to Lead Safe Mama, LLC. We are NOT a nonprofit. We are – instead – a woman-owned small business environmental advocacy organization with a very unusual business model based on a foundation of collaboration with the public. As such, contributions are NOT tax-deductible in any way. [Between 5 and 10% of our business income comes from contributions each month.]
- Venmo: @TamaraERubin
- Zelle: 503-702-2708
- PayPal: TamaraRubin@mac.com
- GoFundMe link
- Paid Subscriber Group: Join our paid Facebook Subscriber group with a monthly gift of $52.35 (for one month or 4 or 6!) and be part of our paid subscriber group on Facebook (where your questions will be answered by Tamara personally – fairly immediately!) Here’s the link with info on how to be part of that subscriber group!
- Hire Tamara for corporate or legal advising, a community outreach event, or a one-on-one home consultation.
- Here’s the page with details about community Lead Poisoning Prevention outreach events (hiring Tamara to come do a presentation or larger event for your community, school or business.)
- Here’s the page with the current Lead Safe Mama travel schedule.
- Here’s the page with details on hiring Tamara for a phone consult or zoom consult
- Here’s the page with rates for hiring Tamara for a one-on-one personal home consultation.
- [In recent years about 40% of our business income comes from events, corporate consulting and working directly with families in a consulting/advising capacity.]
Thank you for being a partner in this work and in expanding the reach and impact of this message.
All of the ways to make a direct contribution in support of this work or to pay your deposit for a home consultation or small community event (Venmo or Zelle preferred):
- Venmo: @TamaraERubin
- Zelle: 503-702-2708
- PayPal: TamaraRubin@mac.com
- GoFundMe link
- Checks should be made out to Lead Safe Mama, LLC and mailed to:
- Lead Safe Mama, LLC
- 7933 SE 15th Avenue
- Portland, Oregon 97202
Sree Sudha says
Hi Tamara,
First of all, thank you for your amazing work and please keep continuing.
I read somewhere that you also accept items mailed to you for XRF testing at our own expense. Is that still true ?
Katie says
Hi Sree-
Here is info on how to send in an item for testing:
https://tamararubin.com/2019/08/tamara-can-i-send-you-one-of-my-dishes-to-test-for-lead/
Janice says
Hello Tamara
I have been searching for answers on my own to no avail, guess it is time to ask the expert… Help
can you give me any info on the following I would greatly appreciate.
1. Cape Cod ruby red glass ware, since I have the whole set for years now I am afraid to use it.
2 DE SILVA pots and bowls made in italy if this is toxic or not think the material is a stone ware???
Thank you for all you do
Tamara says
Hi Janice,
Here’s the “red glass” category on the website. Looking through these examples may be helpful: https://tamararubin.com/category/red-glass/
I am not familiar with Di Silva – you could send a piece in. Here’s how that works: https://tamararubin.com/2019/08/tamara-can-i-send-you-one-of-my-dishes-to-test-for-lead/
You might find it helpful (for the future) to watch this little video about searching this website 🙂 It unlocks a lot of the mysteries given there is so much data here!
https://tamararubin.com/2020/12/how-to-use-the-lead-safe-mama-website-video/
Tamara
Mary says
Hi Tamara,
I have a lot of items that I would like to donate to your museumFisher Price toys, vintage camping, ceramic plates, glassware. I live in Beaverton Oregon. I am unable to drive and bring to you. Would you have someone that could pick up. If this is not available I will toss. Thank you for what you are doing.
Tamara says
Oh wow – thank you. Can you text me? 415-609-3182 – maybe text some pictures of how much stuff it is so I can see if I have room for it? We’re just rearranging the storage with the museum stuff and I may have to get a second unit anyway – but I haven’t made the decision yet.
T