Instruments

Tiny Brass “Handcast” Tibetan Meditation Bowl: 56,400 ppm Lead (this is a very typical amount of Lead for yellow brass!)

January 5, 2019September 28, 2023

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…

Vintage Handmade Wooden Percussion Drum: Lead Free! [Click to read full XRF test results.]

November 12, 2018July 20, 2022

When tested with an XRF instrument all components of this piece were negative (Non-Detect) for the following metals (& any other metal not listed below in the specific results listing): Lead (Pb) Mercury (Hg) Cadmium (Cd) Arsenic (As) Antimony (Sb) Selenium (Se) Chromium (Cr) Here’s a link to a similar style drum on Amazon.* In…

#AskTamara: Q. Could A Vintage Leaded Brass Mouthpiece Cause Kidney Failure In A Trumpet Player? A. Maybe

September 8, 2018April 6, 2019

1 Comment

#AskTamara Question: Could a vintage leaded brass mouthpiece cause (or contribute to) kidney failure in a professional trumpet player? Answer: Maybe. The vintage (c. 1980s or earlier) trumpet mouthpiece shown here tested positive for a relatively high level of lead for leaded brass (22,200 ppm lead.) It is a bare leaded brass mouthpiece that is…

BluesBand Hohner International New Harmonica: Positive for 455 ppm Mercury & 146 ppm Arsenic!

December 7, 2017April 6, 2019

3 Comments

#LeadFree New 2017 BluesBand, Hohner International Harmonica. Tested with an XRF instrument. Most of the components of this instrument are free of heavy metals, however, the small bronze/ yellow colored square elements with scalloped edges (see close up photo above) had the following readings when tested with an XRF instrument: Lead (Pb): Negative/ Non-Detect Mercury…

#LeadedTrumpetMouthpieces: A response to a band leader…

July 13, 2017April 6, 2019

1 Comment

Band leaders across the country are understandably upset about my findings of lead in trumpet mouthpieces. The easy response for some is to not believe my findings and to try to discredit them (at least in their own minds) so that they feel that they do not need to alert their band members, nor take any…