#LeadFree: (Surprise!) 1968 Paperback Copy of “Al Jaffee Spews Out Snappy Answers To Stupid Questions”
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,…
Ask Tamara: What books do you read to your kids?
Ask Tamara Question: What books do you read to your kids? Answer: Having children with disabilities makes everything challenging. Something a simple as reading a book to them at bed-time can end up in a downright brawl if we are not careful. As a compromise I have found that books-on-tape are a great investment. If…
#Leaded: 1965 Great Detective Stories Hardcover Book
Most vintage books have at least some amount of lead. The amount of lead that is considered toxic in a modern item manufactured and intended to be used by children is 90 ppm or higher in the coating (or paint) and 100 ppm (or higher) in the substrate. This 1965 printing of “Great Detective Stories”…
Vintage English Johnson Brothers Mill Stream Ceramic Ironstone Plate: 54,700 ppm Lead, 90 ppm is unsafe for kids.
This vintage Johnson Brothers Mill Stream ceramic “Ironstone” dish tested positive for the following levels when tested with an XRF instrument: Lead (Pb): 54,700 +/- 1,700 ppm Barium (Ba): 489 +/- 104 ppm Tin (Sn): 1,261 +/- 78 ppm Zinc (Zn): 3,461 +/- 178 ppm Iron (Fe): 540 +/- 181 ppm For more information about…
About a week after the criminal case against me was wholly dismissed (in May, 2018) the Oregon DOJ representative called my attorney and said they would be willing to dismiss THEIR case against me as long as I would just admit that I was guilty…..
About a week after the criminal case against me was wholly dismissed (in May, 2018) the Oregon DOJ representative called my attorney and said they would be willing to dismiss THEIR case against me as long as I would just admit that I was guilty… WTF!!!!! – About a month ago (a week or so…
One year and 572,514 page views later…
Today, in the midst of poverty and extreme financial hardship for my family it is interesting to have something quite remarkable to celebrate. Thanks to Facebook’s “memories” function, earlier today I was reminded that one year ago we were in the midst of a very different situation… my site going viral for a bunch of…
Testing Liberty Blue, Johnson Brothers or Homer Laughlin China with A LeadCheck Swab (Video)
Here are some posts related to the 6-minute video (below): Can I test my dishes with a LeadCheck Swab https://tamararubin.com/2017/02/leadcheck-dishware/ Johnson Brothers Posts https://tamararubin.com/category/johnson-bros/ Homer Laughlin Posts https://tamararubin.com/category/homer-laughlin/ Liberty Blue Posts https://tamararubin.com/category/liberty-blue/ Chip In https://tamararubin.com/2017/01/chip-in/ This video was originally filmed as a Facebook Live video (so there may be moments where I am responding to…
English 1976 Liberty Blue saucer with Boston’s Old North Church: 44,100 ppm Lead. This should NOT be used for food!
Published: June 20, 2018 So many families have these dishes! They are truly works of art, and a piece of history (even though they were mass-manufactured only about 40 years ago.) My understanding, from doing a little online research, is that this line with the “Historical Colonial Scenes” was manufactured in 1976 for the United…
Do Franciscan Potteries vintage dishes have unsafe levels of lead? Does Mexican pottery that is marked lead-free have unsafe levels of lead? (video)
Here are the blog posts related to the video below: Franciscan Ivy. Franciscan Desert Rose. Mexican “Lead-Free” Pottery. Comments to the “viewers” in this are from the original posting of the video as a Facebook Live video! Video is about 6 minutes long, and also shows you how to stretch one LeadCheck swab out to…
#LeadSafe: Rae Dunn “Rest” Ceramic Spoon Rest, Artisan Collection by Magenta
Rae Dunn “REST” Spoon Rest, Artisan Collection by Magenta. Tested with an XRF instrument in 2018. 89 +/- 21 ppm lead. Considered safe by all standards. Non-detect for cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg). Here’s an affiliate link* for this product on Amazon. While this is low lead and considered safe by all standards, I…
#LeadFree: 1967 Pontiac Firebird Hot Wheels Toy Car by Mattel
#LeadFree • #HotWheels • #Mattel Made in Malaysia c. (Year made): ? Tested with an XRF instrument in 2017. Most newer toy cars like this that I have tested have been lead-free. I think new Hot Wheels cars are a really good toy choice across the board! To see more toy cars I have tested, click…
#LeadFree: 1967 Ford Shelby GT-500 Hot Wheels By Mattel
#LeadFree • #HotWheels • #Mattel Made in Malaysia c. (Year made): ? Tested with an XRF instrument in 2017. Most newer toy cars like this that I have tested have been lead-free. I think new Hot Wheels cars are a really good toy choice across the board! To see more toy cars I have tested, click…
#LeadFree: 2014 Pullback Toy School Bus, Made In China
Pullback toy; school bus by “KinsFun”. Tested with an XRF instrument in 2014: No lead, mercury, cadmium or arsenic BUT (most toy cars I test are like this) as high as 36,600 parts per million GOLD! In the yellow paint! WTH!? Made in China. Here is my Amazon affiliate link to this exact toy. If you…
#LeadFree: Mini Star Leather Baby Shoes With Puppy Dogs
These Mini Star brand leather baby shoes (with a puppy dog design) were tested with an XRF instrument in 2013. They were negative for lead. Exact date of manufacture is unknown. Click here to see more baby shoes that I have tested. Here’s an example of a new shoe from this company (on Amazon).* *Amazon…
Do brand new baby shoes have lead in 2018? (Video)
#AskTamara Question: Do brand new baby shoes have lead in 2018? Answer: Yes, they do! (They can, they may… but most shouldn’t!) Watch this short video (just 2 minutes & 55 seconds!) to learn about how to find safer choices in baby shoes for your little ones! To see more baby shoes I have tested, click here!…
#Leaded: Vintage/Antique Glass Marbles, Yellow and White Swirl
Yellow and White Swirled Glass Vintage Marble: 2,364 ppm Lead! The amount of lead that is considered toxic in the substrate of a newly manufactured item intended for use by children is anything 100 ppm lead or higher. Tested in 2014 with an XRF instrument. Year of manufacture and brand: unknown. Once I learned that even…
#Leaded: Glass Pokeman Marble, c. 2013
Pokeman Marble. Tested with an XRF instrument in 2013. Apprx 36,000 ppm lead (on the “painted” design). The amount of lead considered toxic (and therefore illegal) in a newly manufactured item intended for children (after 2010) is anything with paint or coating testing positive for lead at 90 ppm or higher. I don’t know what…
Vintage Hammer With Green Paint & Wooden Handle: 24,600 ppm Lead in the green paint. 90 ppm is unsafe for kids.
Vintage Hammer: 24,600 ppm lead paint (green) on the metal. [& That’s what is LEFT, given the amount of wear on this piece it is likely that the lead level on this paint was originally much much higher!] Tested with an XRF instrument in 2014. To see more tools I have tested, click here! As…
Hammer With Rubberized Grip [Purchased at Harbor Freight]: 45 ppm Lead + 174 ppm Arsenic.
This hammer was tested in 2017, however I do not know the year of manufacture or vendor. My husband confirmed that he purchased these at Harbor Freight a few years ago. One thing this hammer demonstrates is that “Made In China” doesn’t necessarily translate to “high-Lead”, although I’m not too keen on Arsenic in my…
Bank of America Promotional Tool From 2012 Builder’s Tradeshow: 2,491 ppm Lead [90 ppm is unsafe for kids.]
Nesting mini-screwdriver / hammer set. I got this at the National Builder Show in February of 2012. The vendor gave one to each of my kids. Metal part of hammer = no lead. Screwdrivers = no lead. Rubberized handle: 2,491 ppm lead. To see more tools I have tested, click here! As always, if you…
Testing the paint on a reusable glass milk bottle with a LeadCheck Swab (Video.)
Here’s a little (3-minute) video where I test the paint on a Garry’s milk bottle (Garry’s is an Oregon based company) with a LeadCheck swab. There is also a photo below showing how many swab tests I was able to get out of the liquid from one LeadCheck swab by using q-tips. This picture also…
#LeadFree: Straus Family Creamery Reusable Glass Milk Bottle
Straus Family Creamery (in Marin County, California) managed to do what other creameries have not managed to do somehow… the black paint on their new (2018) reusable glass bottles is negative for lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) when tested with an XRF instrument! The great thing that this demonstrates is that it is actually possible…
Red markings on Lady Lane Farms glass milk bottles, Garry’s Meadow Fresh: 20,500 ppm Lead (90 is unsafe for kids).
Originally posted: June 16, 2018 Updated: January 14, 2020 – Update at bottom of post. When the red paint on these reusable glass milk bottles was tested with an XRF instrument it was positive for lead at levels as high as 20,500 +/- 500 ppm and for cadmium at 1118 +/- 48 ppm. To learn…
Email today to Lady Lane Farm, Garry’s Meadow Fresh Milk – Oregon
Saturday, June 16, 2018 – To: Info@LadyLaneFarm.com – From: TamaraRubin@mac.com – Subject: Your bottles are painted with lead paint – I recently discovered that the red paint on your reusable glass milk bottles is lead paint. It is more than 20,000 ppm lead. – There is no regulation on this at all, so – to…