Mexican tiles often have unsafe levels of Lead. Tile pictured: 74,000 ppm Lead. > 90 ppm is illegal in modern house paint.
When tested with an XRF instrument, the hand-painted Mexican tile pictured here had the following readings: Lead (Pb): 74,000 +/- 3,200 ppm Barium (Ba): 2,522 +/- 281 ppm Chromium (Cr): 5,608 +/- 914 ppm Antimony (Sb): 2,438 +/- 210 ppm This tile was non-detect (negative) for: Cadmium (Cd), Arsenic (As), Mercury (Hg) and Selenium (Se)….
Mexican tiles often have unsafe levels of Lead. Tile pictured: 49,100 ppm Lead. > 90 ppm is illegal in modern house paint.
When tested with an XRF instrument, the hand-painted Mexican tile pictured here had the following readings: Lead (Pb): 49,100 +/- 2,100 ppm Barium (Ba): 3,765 +/- 367 ppm Chromium (Cr): 5,400 +/- 947 ppm This tile was non-detect (negative) for: Cadmium (Cd), Arsenic (As), Mercury (Hg), Antimony (Sb) and Selenium (Se). XRF-detectable Lead content in…
#LeadSafeMama Fun Facts: In June 2019 this site had more than FOUR TIMES as many views as it did in June 2018!
More fun #LeadSafeMama stats! LeadSafeMama.com closed out June 2019 with 186,506 unique views from more than 56,000 people in more than 100 countries! [Our people and countries numbers are reporting artificially on the low-side for this month because of Google Analytics glitch from May 15 to June 15.] This compares to June 2018 which had…
‘Handmade’ does not always equal ‘safe’. Barrettes, bought at a 2018 Los Angeles craft fair: 36,600 ppm Lead. 90 is unsafe.
These were purchased by a friend of mine in Santa Monica in the last year. (Actually my friend’s mother purchased them for her toddler granddaughter to use). They were purchased at a downtown Los Angeles handmade crafts fair, and made and sold expressly intended for use by children. Most of these tested positive for high…
“Made in Italy” saucer – purchased new at Crate & Barrel in 2006: 46,700 ppm Lead. [90 ppm is unsafe for kids.]
Most decorative Crate and Barrel-purchased dishware that I have tested over the years has been positive for high levels of Lead. Here is the full XRF reading for the food surface of the plate pictured. Plain white center of food surface of saucer: Lead (Pb): 29,100 +/- 700 ppm Barium (Ba): 353 +/- 70…
Royal Stafford Fine Earthenware Plate. English, from Crate & Barrel in 2006: 71,900 ppm Lead. [90 is unsafe for kids.]
I was excited to finally test this plate as I have had several readers ask me if this pattern has Lead. In general (as a rule) most “Royal Stafford” dishes (or “Staffordshire” – or “Made In England” for that matter!) I have tested have been positive for high levels of Lead and most decorative…
#LeadSafeMama Fun Facts: As of this morning, July 7, this website has more views so far this month than all of July, 2018!
Thanks to your ongoing support, as of 9:17 this morning (Pacific Time), for July this, website has had 43,799 unique views so far. This is compared to ALL of last July (2018) – with 43,621 views! We have had more unique views (and more readers on this site) in the first week of July, 2019…
1996 Dave And Buster’s Collectable Coin: Lead Free [29% Zinc, 70% Copper!]
Recently a reader of mine (and actually a long-time friend in the Lead-poisoning prevention world) contacted me to ask if I had ever tested one of these Dave and Buster’s coins. I was not at all familiar with Dave and Buster’s, but I looked it up and this appears to be a coin similar to…
That 4th of July when my son freaked-me-the-f out by doing something he saw on YouTube (video)
Introduction (for those new to this website): Tamara Rubin is a federal-award-winning independent advocate for consumer goods safety and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children, her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005. Since 2009 Tamara has been using XRF testing (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission)…
Did you know fireworks can have Lead or other toxic metals? Here are #LeadSafeMama’s tips for a Lead-safe 4th of July!
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,…
Coming soon: A #LeadSafeMama Baby Registry! Stay tuned. Moms, tell me what you want to see on a shopping guide!
Tell me what you want to see on this guide! Here are some of the categories of things I plan on including: Bottles Blankets Nursing Bras Diapers Clothing Shoes Dishes Toys Personal Care Products Nursery Furnishings I want to know what YOU want to see on this list. Please leave your ideas (categories or specific…
#SiteStats: Tonight (6/30/19) the #LeadSafeMama site passed 3,500,000 unique all-time page views! Thank you!
Tonight (June 30, 2019), the #LeadSafeMama website just passed the milestone of 3,500,000 unique all-time page views! In reaching this goal this month, we also broke another record… As of this moment (not yet midnight on June 30th), 2,082,829 of those unique page views happened in the past six months alone (January, February, March, April,…
Louis Vuitton Bag, c. 2001: 258 ppm Arsenic + 5,943 ppm Lead. 90 ppm is unsafe. Does your child play with yours?
The owner of this purse told me she purchased it new about 20 years ago, which would put the year of the manufacture date somewhere around 1999. [Update: owner got back to me and pinned it down a little further, she purchased it in Paris on a trip to Europe in 2001.] I have known…
Kids drinking from the hose this summer? Maybe don’t let them? Hose pictured is 22,300 ppm Lead. 90 is unsafe.
Originally Published: June 30, 2019 Updated: July 2, 2021 Who doesn’t have the childhood memory of the sensation of putting their mouth up against the cool bubbling water right at the end of the hose to drink on a hot summer day? I certainly do! The concern for Lead in hoses is two-fold: potential contamination…
#TamarasTravelTips: I rented a car in Los Angeles (at LAX) for $22.98! Whaaa. (Just one of my little adventures on the road.)
I am probably writing this more for myself than for you – as a bit of a “journal entry” of the stuff I have to put up with in my life to do what I do to help families around the country — but maybe one or two of you might find this as amusing…
Hello Southern California — Lead Safe Mama is in your neighborhood for the next two weeks!
Hello all! I am currently on a flight to Southern California (LAX) and will be “in the area” for the next two weeks! [As my home is in Portland, Oregon these days, at this point for me, “southern California” loosely includes pretty much “anywhere south of the San Francisco Bay Area“! lol ;-)] I have time…
Vintage Cream Corelle Plate With Peach Tulip Buds: 28,500 ppm Lead (90 is unsafe for kids) + 150 Cadmium
For those new to this website: Tamara Rubin is a federal-award-winning independent advocate for consumer goods safety and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children, her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005. Since 2009 Tamara has been using XRF testing (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to…
Sango Vega Aqua Square Ceramic Dish: 1,219 ppm Lead (90 is considered unsafe in items for use by kids).
Oops – this broke in shipping! If you are sending me something to test, please make sure it is very well packed. Here’s a link about how to participate in the collaborative testing I do with my readers. When tested with an XRF instrument the green and white Sango brand dish pictured here had the…
Target Threshold Small Green “Joy” Stoneware Dish: 255 ppm Lead (90 is considered unsafe in items for use by kids)
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,…
Target Threshold Tiny Orange Stoneware Dish: 362 ppm Cadmium + 87 ppm Lead.
When tested with an XRF instrument the (tiny) orange and white Threshold brand dish (from Target) pictured here had the following readings: Test focused on area of dish with orange glaze: (this glaze is inside on the food-surface of the dish) Cadmium (Cd): 362 +/- 24 ppm Barium (Ba): 1,567 +/- 24 ppm Selenium (Se):…
Target Threshold Small Orange Stoneware Dish: 384 ppm Cadmium + 108 ppm Lead.
When tested with an XRF instrument the orange and white Threshold brand dish (from Target) pictured here had the following readings: Test focused on area of dish with orange glaze: (this glaze is inside and outside of dish & had similar readings in both locations.) Cadmium (Cd): 384 +/- 25 ppm Barium (Ba): 2,040 +/- 122…
Corelle Coordinates White Stoneware Dish with Black Stripe Design: 92 ppm Lead (within safe range).
When tested with an XRF instrument the dish pictured here had the following readings: Test focused on area of dish with black stripe: Lead (Pb): 92 +/- 34 ppm Barium (Ba): 2,744 +/- 235 ppm Chromium (Cr): 1,999 +/- 185 ppm Antimony (Sb): 95 +/- 45 ppm Tin (Sn): 303 +/- 47 ppm Zinc (Zn):…
Corelle Coordinates White Porcelain Mug with Black Stripe Design: 6,300 ppm Lead (90 is unsafe in kids’ items.)
When tested with an XRF instrument the mug pictured here had the following readings: Test focused on area of mug with black stripe: Lead (Pb): 6,300 +/- 157 ppm Barium (Ba): 184 +/- 50 ppm Chromium (Cr): 791 +/- 104 ppm Tin (Sn): 48 +/- 15 ppm Zinc (Zn): 11,500 +/- 300 ppm Iron (Fe):…
Corelle Coordinates White Porcelain Mug: 24 ppm Lead, considered safe by all standards.
When tested with an XRF instrument the mug pictured here had the following readings: Glazed surface of the mug: Lead (Pb): 24 +/- 12 ppm Iron (Fe): 2,220 +/- 207 ppm Bismuth (Bi): 158 +/- 17 ppm Vanadium (V): 93 +/- 21 ppm Titanium (Ti): 143 +/- 29 ppm Logo area on bottom of mug…