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). 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 (March 2023 print edition).
May 2, 2023 — Tuesday
XRF Test Results for the Dishes Pictured
Quick Summary:
Even though these dishes are positive for traces of Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic, and Cobalt, the levels are low enough that these dishes are considered to be safe by all modern standards currently in place for pottery intended for use with food.
Some additional reading:
- To read more about the concern for Lead in pottery and china, click here.
- For the menu of this website (where you can look through different categories of all the items Lead Safe Mama, LLC has tested), click here.
- To see XRF test results for more “Made in Japan” 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.
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).
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).
Reading #1) Center of Food Surface — Orange Glazed Area
60-second test (repeated multiple times to confirm results)
- Lead (Pb): 52 +/- 11 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
- Tin (Sn): 16 +/- 9 ppm
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Selenium (Se): non-detect
- Barium (Ba): 167 +/- 35 ppm
- Arsenic (As): non-detect
- Chromium (Cr): 5,841 +/- 385 ppm
- Antimony (Sb): non-detect
- Copper (Cu): non-detect
- Zinc (Zn): 49,200 +/- 900 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): non-detect
- Bromine (Br): non-detect
- Manganese (Mn): non-detect
- Zirconium (Zr): 879 +/- 26 ppm
- Indium (In): non-detect
- Iron (Fe): 10,400 +/- 300 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): non-detect
- Vanadium (V): 2,128 +/- 472 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): 631 +/- 103 ppm
- Gold (Au): non-detect
- Cobalt (Co): non-detect
- No other metals were detected in consumer goods mode.
Reading #2) Center of Food Surface — Yellow Glazed Area
60-second test (repeated multiple times to confirm results)
- Lead (Pb): non-detect
- Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
- Tin (Sn): 26,500 +/- 600 ppm
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Selenium (Se): 145 +/- 35 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 3,976 +/- 471 ppm
- Arsenic (As): 24 +/- 15 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): non-detect
- Antimony (Sb): non-detect
- Copper (Cu): non-detect
- Nickel (Ni): 52 +/- 35 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 17,300 +/- 400 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): non-detect
- Bromine (Br): 83 +/- 14 ppm
- Manganese (Mn): non-detect
- Zirconium (Zr): non-detect
- Indium (In): non-detect
- Iron (Fe): 1,021 +/- 108 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 59 +/- 20 ppm
- Vanadium (V): non-detect
- Platinum (Pt): non-detect
- Gold (Au): non-detect
- Cobalt (Co): non-detect
- No other metals were detected in consumer goods mode.
Reading #3) Center of Food Surface — Green Glazed Area
60-second test (repeated multiple times to confirm results)
- Lead (Pb): 30 +/- 15 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): 60 +/- 11 ppm
- Tin (Sn): 5,571 +/- 203 ppm
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Selenium (Se): non-detect
- Barium (Ba): 435 +/- 60 ppm
- Arsenic (As): non-detect
- Chromium (Cr): 11,500 +/- 700 ppm
- Antimony (Sb): non-detect
- Nickel (Ni): 1,456 +/- 113 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 243 +/- 44 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 30,900 +/- 800 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 14,000 +/- 400 ppm
- Titanium (Ti): non-detect
- Bromine (Br): non-detect
- Manganese (Mn): non-detect
- Indium (In): non-detect
- Iron (Fe): 4,422 +/- 266 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): non-detect
- Vanadium (V): 1,722 +/- 686
- Platinum (Pt): 551 +/- 110 ppm
- Gold (Au): non-detect
- Cobalt (Co): 908 +/- 117 ppm
- No other metals were detected in consumer goods mode.
~ End ~
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