![A Lead-free favorite of my (teenage) kids. [Note: my kids are science-geeks!]](https://tamararubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Glass-bottles-768x768.png)
Friday – December 16, 2022 My kids love science…and one aspect of their love for science is that they really love collecting “specimens” when we travel — which they bring home for subsequent examination, evaluation & analysis; cataloguing & archiving! Currently, Charlie and Avi are enjoying collecting sand and water samples from the various habitats they…
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…
![Unifix Math Counting Blocks Teaching Aid from Portland Public Schools: 1330 ppm Cadmium [a known carcinogen.]](https://tamararubin.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Unifix-Math-Learning-Cubes-Teaching-Aid-Lead-Safe-Mama-2-768x576.jpg)
A school teacher with Portland Public Schools (in Oregon) anonymously gave me these small plastic snap-together UNIFIX math / teaching aid blocks to test. She initially had a concern that they might contain something toxic and unsafe for children primarily because of how they smell. Here’s an Amazon link to see this product in the…
Vintage Fisher Price Little People Yellow School Bus Toy, c. 1984. Yellow & Red Plastic. To see more vintage Fisher Price items I have tested, click here. The XRF test results for this exact item (pictured above) are as follows: Yellow Plastic of School Bus: (tested for a minimum of 60 seconds) Lead (Pb): 2,953 +/- 59 ppm…
Middle school entry door (touched by hundreds of children every single day!), painted area is positive for lead at 773 ppm lead. Tested with an XRF instrument in 2013. This lead level is a reading through several layers of paint and is likely reflective of an old leaded layer of paint underneath several newer layers…
Middle school door side (touched by hundreds of children every single day!), positive for lead at 31,100 ppm lead. Tested with an XRF instrument in 2013. The amount of lead that is considered TOXIC for an item intended to be used by children on a regular basis (like a toy) is anything 90 parts per…
Middle school door metal handle (touched by hundreds of children every single day!), positive for lead at 59,100 ppm lead. Tested with an XRF instrument in 2013. The amount of lead that is considered TOXIC for an item intended to be used by children on a regular basis (like a toy) is anything 90 parts…
Vintage 1975-1978 Fisher Price Bus, mostly lead-free! Bus eyeballs: 35 ppm lead, red wheels, 90 ppm lead (hazard level is 90+ ppm) I would call this one “safe”! With these vintage Fisher Price toys this is the exception when it comes to lead (most have at least one component that is high in lead!) To…
Well… the most exciting news here is the first four words of the title of this blog post! I finally found a school for my youngest son Charlie! Charlie was lead poisoned in-utero (most likely as a result of my lead exposure in 2005 when my two middle sons were exposed) and has a “severe…
My family received this in the mail yesterday (4/27/2017). It is a political mass mailing about the 2017 Portland Public Schools Bond Measure 26-193, coming up for a vote next month (here in Portland, Oregon – USA.) I will be writing a blog post about my thoughts in response to this bond this weekend and will link…
Yellow painted lines on school yard in Portland Public school Elementary School – Llewellyn /Sellwood – 25,700 ppm lead. In spite of a public declaration to “Keep PPS Schoolyards Safe And Healthy” this is simply not happening! —- Originally Posted; July 2016. —- Hey you guys! More lead! #Sigh I knew the yellow street lines (and curbs)…