Barium

Green shooter marble (Marble King brand, previously sold & marketed as Lead-free): 1,375 ppm Lead (+ Cadmium too).

Green shooter marble (Marble King brand, previously sold & marketed as Lead-free): 1,375 ppm Lead (+ Cadmium too).

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Above photos shows a small Marble King brand green-swirl “cat’s eye” marble (randomly positive for 175 ppm Lead) next to a large Marble King brand green-swirl “cat’s eye” shooter (randomly positive for 1375 ppm Lead). Please note the level of Lead is not dependent on the size of the marble. – Photos by Avi B….

Amber Glass Vintage Wine Goblet: Lead-Free, Cadmium-Free, Arsenic-Free!

Amber Glass Vintage Wine Goblet: Lead-Free, Cadmium-Free, Arsenic-Free!

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Every now and then there’s a vintage find that actually doesn’t contain any of “the usual suspects” (5 neurotoxicant metals commonly found in the decorative coatings and/or substrates of so many vintage consumer goods) — Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Arsenic, and Antimony… When tested with an XRF instrument this goblet (pictured here in this post) had…

Avi’s 8th Grade Science Class Experiment: “How does the elemental composition of glass marbles affect their color?”

Avi’s 8th Grade Science Class Experiment: “How does the elemental composition of glass marbles affect their color?”

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Photos by Avi B. Rubin, age 14 (8th grade science, Sellwood Middle School) Below each marble image is the full XRF test result for that particular color (& style) marble. These marbles are all from the manufacturer Marble King. Important points to note: A Niton XL3T XRF instrument was used for this testing. All testing…

Mountain Rose Herbs Brown Glass 4 oz Bottle: 112 +/- 17 ppm Lead (considered safe by all standards.)

Mountain Rose Herbs Brown Glass 4 oz Bottle: 112 +/- 17 ppm Lead (considered safe by all standards.)

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When tested with an XRF instrument the brown glass of this Mountain Rose Herbs bottle had the following readings (these readings are typical for brown glass & you can see more examples HERE.) If a metal is not noted in the result set below it was not detectable by the XRF in the particular test…

#LeadFree: Penn Championship Extra-Duty Felt Tennis Balls

#LeadFree: Penn Championship Extra-Duty Felt Tennis Balls

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When tested with an XRF instrument these #3 tennis balls from Penn are negative (non-detect) for lead (Pb), arsenic (As), mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd.) To date, I have never tested a tennis ball that was positive for lead (although there are not a lot of vintage tennis balls arounds – so I cannot speak…

#LeadFree: New (2014) Duralex Amber Picardie Tumbler

#LeadFree: New (2014) Duralex Amber Picardie Tumbler

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These Duralex Picardie amber glasses were new (shipped to me for testing directly by the manufacturer) in 2014.  They tested negative for lead, mercury and arsenic when tested with an XRF instrument. I love responsible companies who ship me stuff for testing directly! Here is my Amazon affiliate link* to these exact glasses!  http://amzn.to/2D4jb3Y Would you like…