XRF Test Results for La Chambra Bowl — Purchased in March 2020
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 La Chambra bowl purchased in March of 2020
Reading #1) Center of Food Surface on Dish
Black Glazed Inside of Bowl
60-Second Reading
- Lead (Pb): 16 +/- 7 ppm [This level is safe by all standards]
- Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
- Arsenic (As): non-detect
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Iron (Fe): 35,300 +/- 700 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 67 +/- 14 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 234 +/- 9 ppm
- Indium (In): 11 +/- 6 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 305 +/- 28 ppm
- Platinum (Pt): 47 +/- 28 ppm
- No other metals were detected in Consumer Goods Mode.
Reading #2) Exterior Surface of Dish
Black Glazed Exterior Side of Bowl
60-Second Reading
- Lead (Pb): 14 +/- 7 ppm [This level is safe by all standards]
- Cadmium (Cd): non-detect
- Arsenic (As): non-detect
- Mercury (Hg): non-detect
- Titanium (Ti): 1,722 +/- 932 ppm
- Iron (Fe): 45,900 +/- 900 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 88 +/- 16 ppm
- Zirconium (Zr): 285 +/- 11 ppm
- Barium (Ba): 334 +/- 31 ppm
- Bismuth (Bi): 20 +/- 8 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.
The level of Lead found in this dish is safe by all standards, HOWEVER given it is a low-fire, handmade piece (possibly from Columbia or Mexico — I am not 100% sure of its country of origin at the time of publishing but will update this article if I come across more information for this specific bowl) I would not use this for cooking (and would especially not use this for hot and/or acidic foods) as it is more likely to leach (even though the levels are incredibly low) and it less likely to have passed leach testing standards at the time of manufacture — given both the unnknown country of origin and the fact that it is a handmade piece. Unfortunately, “La Chambra” pieces are advertised as Lead-free — and while there is likely no Lead ADDED as an ingredient to the ceramic or finish, the statement that these pieces are “Lead-free” is simply not true. There is likely traces of Lead in the base ceramic — as with most ceramic pieces made today.
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
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