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Introduction (for those new to this website):

Tamara Rubin is a Federal award-winning independent advocate for consumer goods safety and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children, her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005. Since 2009 Tamara has been using XRF testing (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. All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable. Items are tested multiple times, to confirm the test results for each component tested. Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February of 2023.

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April 30, 2023 — Sunday

XRF Test Results for the Cast Iron Pan Pictured

Some additional reading:

• To learn more about XRF testing, click here.
• To read more about Cast Iron, click here.
• For the menu of this website (where you can look through different categories of the items Lead Safe Mama, LLC has tested), click here.
• To see XRF test results for more “Made in U.S.A.” pieces we have tested, click here.
• To learn more about sending in an item from your home for Lead Safe Mama, LLC to test, click here.

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Color-Code Key to XRF Readings Below

Metals noted in RED are considered toxic heavy metals in most applications.
Metals noted in ORANGE are considered toxic in some applications (specifically with ingestion), but are not necessarily concerning in the product discussed in this article.
Metals noted in BLUE are not considered toxic in this application.
Metals noted in GRAY were not found to be present (with the low threshold of detection for the XRF instrument normally falling in the single or double-digit ppm for most metals).

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Reading #1) Center of Food Surface of Pan
Tested in Consumer Goods/Test All Mode
120-second test

• Lead (Pb): non-detect (low threshold of detection 30 ppm)
• Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
• Tin (Sn): 368 +/- 30 ppm
• Mercury (Hg): non-detect
• Selenium (Se): non-detect
• Barium (Ba): non-detect
• Chromium (Cr): 1,952 +/- 119 ppm
• Antimony (Sb): non-detect
• Nickel (Ni): 1,231 +/- 216 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 2,247 +/- 180 ppm
• Zinc (Zn): non-detect
• Titanium (Ti): non-detect
• Manganese (Mn): 5,709 +/- 263 ppm
• Zirconium (Zr): non-detect
• Indium (In): non-detect
• Iron (Fe): 988,200 +/- 800 ppm
• Vanadium (V): non-detect
• Platinum (Pt): non-detect
• Bismuth (Bi): 75 +/- 30 ppm
• Gold (Au): non-detect
• Cobalt (Co): non-detect
• No other metals were detected in this mode.

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Reading #2) Center of Food Surface of Pan
Tested in Metals (Electronic Metals) Mode 
150-second test

• Lead (Pb): non-detect (low threshold of detection 57 ppm)
• Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
• Mercury (Hg): non-detect
• Selenium (Se): non-detect
• Barium (Ba): non-detect
• Chromium (Cr): 1,974 +/- 107 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 988,200 +/- 800 ppm
• Nickel (Ni): 981 +/- 187 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 2,295 +/- 162 ppm
• Manganese (Mn): 5,881 +/- 237 ppm
• Tin (Sn): 372 +/- 27 ppm
• Bismuth (Bi): 111 +/- 29 ppm
• Antimony (Sb): non-detect
• Zinc (Zn): non-detect
• Titanium (Ti): non-detect
• Zirconium (Zr): non-detect
• Indium (In): non-detect
• Vanadium (V): non-detect
• Platinum (Pt): non-detect
• Gold (Au): non-detect
• Cobalt (Co): non-detect
• No other metals were detected in this mode.

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Reading #3) Center of Food Surface of Pan
Tested in Consumer Goods (Metals & Ceramic) Mode 
60-second test

• Lead (Pb): non-detect (low threshold of detection 113 ppm)
• Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
• Mercury (Hg): non-detect
• Selenium (Se): non-detect
• Barium (Ba): non-detect
• Chromium (Cr): 2,005 +/- 174 ppm
• Iron (Fe): 988,300 +/- 1,200 ppm
• Nickel (Ni): 841 +/- 291 ppm
• Copper (Cu): 2,217 +/- 257 ppm
• Manganese (Mn): 5,793 +/- 381 ppm
• Tin (Sn): 348 +/- 43 ppm
• Bismuth (Bi): non-detect
• Antimony (Sb): non-detect
• Zinc (Zn): non-detect
• Titanium (Ti): non-detect
• Zirconium (Zr): non-detect
• Indium (In): non-detect
• Vanadium (V): 402 +/- 179 ppm
• Platinum (Pt): non-detect
• Gold (Au): non-detect
• Cobalt (Co): non-detect
• No other metals were detected in this mode.

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In Conclusion

I will be writing more about this shortly. I primarily wrote this piece to demonstrate the different ranges of test results that might come up when using an XRF instrument to test in various modes (specifically using an XRF instrument designed to test for toxicants (metals) in consumer goods vs. one set up only for testing paint or for metals.)

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