For those new to the Lead Safe Mama 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 four sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005).
- Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama, LLC — a unique community collaborative woman-owned small business for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety.
- Since 2009, Tamara has been conducting XRF testing (a scientific testing method) using the exact instrumentation employed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals — including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic).
- Since July of 2022, the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC has been responsible for five product recalls (FDA and CPSC).
- All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable.
- Items that Lead Safe Mama, LLC reports on are tested multiple times to confirm the results published (for each component tested).
- Recent notable press… There has been too much to mention already in 2024! Please check out our press page to see some of the amazing coverage of our work so far this year!
Metals highlighted below in RED are considered unsafe for humans in this application (dishware). Metals highlighted in BLUE are not considered unsafe for humans in this application (or at the levels detected in this item).
XRF test results for the Mikasa dish pictured,
set of four (Lead-contaminated dishes) purchased at Goodwill for $25
Reading #1) Center of Food Surface of Dish
Beige Glaze
60-Second Reading
- Lead (Pb): 55 +/- 14 ppm [This level is considered safe by all standards]
- Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
- Arsenic (As): non-detect
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Antimony (Sb): non-detect
- Titanium (Ti): 11,900 +/- 2,200 ppm
- Vanadium (V): 3,982 +/- 1,187 ppm
- Chromium (Cr): 824 +/- 391 ppm
- Manganese (Mn): 737 +/- 228 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 1,077 +/- 149 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 110 +/- 31 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 14,200 +/- 400 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 6,524 +/- 165 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 3,363 +/- 118 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): 187 +/- 69 ppm
- No other metals were detected in Consumer Goods Mode.
Reading #2) Food Surface of Dish
Shiny Blue (petals?) on Border of Food Surface
60-Second Reading
- Lead (Pb): 13,600 +/- 300 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
- Arsenic (As): non-detect
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Antimony (Sb): non-detect
- Chromium (Cr): 6,230 +/- 505 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 673 +/- 127 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 15,000 +/- 400 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 90 +/- 31 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 11,700 +/- 300 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 5,108 +/- 140 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 3,055 +/- 118 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): 198 +/- 87 ppm
- Gold (Au): 145 +/- 71 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 423 +/- 41 ppm
- No other metals were detected in Consumer Goods Mode.
Reading #3) Food Surface of Dish
Ribbed Edge of Food Surface (Blue and red/ Brown)
60-Second Reading
- Lead (Pb): 1,955 +/- 122 ppm
- Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
- Arsenic (As): non-detect
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Antimony (Sb): non-detect
- Chromium (Cr): 4,242 +/- 481 ppm
- Manganese (Mn): 2,334 +/- 309 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 13,500 +/- 500 ppm
- Cobalt (Co): 3,250 +/- 218 ppm
- Nickel (Ni): 310 +/- 94 ppm
- Copper (Cu): 109 +/- 39 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 7,336 +/- 240 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 7,383 +/- 254 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 3,646 +/- 176 ppm
- Tungsten (W): 5,129 +/- 312 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): 260 +/- 155 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 31,900 +/- 900 ppm
- No other metals were detected in Consumer Goods Mode.
How much Lead is “too much” Lead?
For context, the amount of Lead considered unsafe in an item intended for use by children is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint, glaze, or coating of an item and/or anything 100 ppm Lead or higher in the substrate. Unfortunately, (as discussed in many articles here on the Lead Safe Mama website) there is no law limiting total (XRF-detectable) Lead content in dishes or cookware (or really in any consumer goods not expressly “intended for use by children”). For a detailed discussion about the concern for Leaded glaze on new or vintage dishware, click here.
Some additional reading that may be of interest:
- Can I test my own dishes myself at home?
- What can I test with a home test kit?
- Can I send you a dish to test?
- How to use this website to search for products you have in your home (a video)
- Safer (Lead-free) choices for dishes and other items in your home
As always, thank you for reading and sharing articles from LeadSafeMama.com. 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.
Tamara Rubin
Owner — Lead Safe Mama, LLC
#LeadSafeMama
I have these. Am I understanding the middle food surface is OK but the rim is not, so I should probably get rid of them?
Makes me sad to have to get rid of so many pretty sets of dishes but I have five grandchildren and want to be safe. I have my white Correlle.
Can you test Mikasa Garden Harvest. I love my dishes but now I am afraid to use them. I would really appreciate it. Thank you.
Hi Janice – here’s how the testing normally works…
https://tamararubin.com/2019/08/can-i-send-in-one-of-my-dishes-or-other-items-to-test-for-lead-yes-maybe-but-read-this-first-thanks/
Every now and then I will see something in a thrift store that folks have asked me to test, but generally folks send things in for testing and help to cover the cost of the testing as well (if they want a specific item tested).
T
How and when can we send things in to test? I’ve already emailed pictures and descriptions.
Just wait for a response to that email. Thank you for your patience.
T
I am interested. How much is the charge for testing?
I just bought a set of white plates at Macy’s called “Inspiration by Denmark.” They’re made in China. I haven’t been able to find out specific information from Macy’s or the company about lead or cadmium. Do you have any information on these dishes?