Where did you find this bag, Tamara!? When I was filming for my documentary on childhood Lead poisoning (MisLEAD: America’s Secret Epidemic) back in February of 2012, we were in New Orleans (about 40% of the film was shot in New Orleans actually!) It seemed fitting to attend the Mardi Gras parade to try to…
Continue reading below each photo of the different color beads to see the full XRF test results for that color bead. I often share that because the Dollar stores (Dollar Tree, Dollar General, etc.) have had so many violations in the past they are actually doing a good job of keeping Lead, Cadmium, Mercury and…
![2012 Mardi Gras Beads: 15,800 ppm Lead (Pb) [90 ppm & up is unsafe for kids!] & 2,028 ppm Cadmium (causes cancer).](https://tamararubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/2012-Blue-Mardi-Gras-Beads-from-New-Orleans-Lead-Safe-Mama-768x576.jpg)
Blue Metallic Plastic Mardi Gras Beads. When filming for my documentary in New Orleans in February of 2012 we collected quite a few sets of Mardi Gras beads, including this set. When tested with an XRF instrument the blue plastic beads pictured had the following readings: Lead (Pb): 15,800 ppm Cadmium (Cd): 2,028 ppm [This…
Gold Plastic Mardi Gras Beads from 2014. In 2014 I did an outreach event at the Charleston Children’s Museum and did XRF testing of consumer goods for folks who came to the museum that day. A nanny came up to my table pushing a toddler in her stroller and I noticed the toddler had these…
My “favorite” quote from the article: To see several sets of Mardi Gras beads that I have tested, Click Here. Smithsonian Magazine Article Published: March 8, 2017 By: David Redmon “Every year, 25 million pounds of plastic beads made by Chinese factory workers get dumped on the streets of New Orleans. Shiny, colorful bead necklaces,…
Purple Plastic Mardi Gras Beads from New Orleans Mardi Gras 2012. When tested with an XRF instrument the plastic beads pictured had the following toxicant readings: Lead (Pb): 315 ppm Cadmium (Cd): 132 ppm Arsenic (As): Negative/ Non-Detect Mercury (Hg): Negative/ Non-Detect For more XRF test results of beads I have tested, click here. The…