#LeadFree: 1 Cup Round Oxo Food Storage

Posted on
4 Comments
One-cup clear glass OXO brand food storage container with plastic lid (with inner silicone green rim/ band). Tested with an XRF instrument. Non-Detect (negative) for: lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd.)  All components tested.  This is a terrific #SaferChoice for your home. To see this exact product on Amazon*, click here! Thanks…

#LeadFree (but #Cadmium): Silicone Baking Cups

Posted on
5 Comments
Silicone Muffin Cups: Lead Free Tested in 2017. Thank you to Sally Taber for donating and supporting my advocacy work! I DO NOT recommend that you buy this product, but here’s the link so you can read the specs on Amazon*. Cadmium levels were as follows: Pink: 227 ppm Orange: 227 ppm Yellow: 166 ppm…

Silver Bordered Vintage China Mug / Tea Cup: 104,700 ppm Lead [90 ppm Lead is unsafe for kids.]

Posted on
0 Comments
Mug with “silver” border (where your lips would go!) It turns out the “silver” is achieved by using Leaded glaze! Inside of cup is 845 ppm lead, “silver” border is 104,700 ppm Lead. Tested with an XRF instrument in 2014. I apologize that I did not capture information about the maker or pattern on this…

#LeadSafe: Baum Pyramid Pattern Ceramic Mug

Posted on
2 Comments
Ceramic Baum “Pyramid” design mug: 26 +/- 15 ppm lead. The interior was negative/ “non-detect” for lead (Pb).  Both the interior and exterior were also non-detect for cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg.) Tested with an XRF instrument. The amount of lead that is considered toxic in an item for children is anything 90 ppm…

#LeadFree: 6 oz clear glass Ball brand mason jar

Posted on
11 Comments
Small 6oz Ball brand clear glass canning jar, lid and band.  Newly purchased in 2017. Tested with an XRF instrument.  “Non-Detect” (negative) for lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd.) We use Ball brand canning jars (of all sizes) every day in our home. While the lids are free of the toxicants listed…

#LeadFree: SMI Stainless Spoon / Flatware

Posted on
3 Comments
Stainless Steel Spoon, marked “SMI”on the back: Non-detect/negative for Lead (Pb). Also non-detect for mercury (Hg), cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As.) Tested with an XRF instrument. The SMI mark appears to be that of Liberty Tabletop products a division of Sherrill MFG. Inc. “America’s Flatware Company.” These are Made in the USA and seem to…

This “Go Green” organic face paint is a nice Lead-free option for the kiddos. What brand do you use?

Posted on
0 Comments
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…

Aside from *getting arrested, November was one of my best months ever!

Posted on
2 Comments
November was a great month for TamaraRubin.com! 70,501 unique views… my second best month ever (second only to June 2017 with the #WallMartJellyShoes and #FidgetSpinner chaos, with 71,904 unique views!) The tremendous impact this past month was in large part the result of the CBS Morning News national coverage of my advocacy work, as well…

#Cadmium: Older/Vintage Black Tycos Stethoscope

Posted on
0 Comments
Vintage Tycos Stethoscope. Tested with an XRF instrument. Year of manufacture is unknown. Tested negative for Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg) and Arsenic (As), but positive for Cadmium (Cd) at 150 +/- 13 ppm on the rubber tubing component.  All components tested.   Read more about cadmium toxicity here. Thanks to Marya Shahriary for donating and…

#Cadmium: Small Toy Copper Coffee Pot

Posted on
1 Comment
This little antique/ vintage toy coffee pot is 999,700 ppm copper on the outside (basically a pure copper exterior), but the inside (which would touch an beverage poured into it by a child is positive for cadmium when tested with an XRF instrument: Cadmium reading: 1,248 +/- 154 ppm. Read more about cadmium toxicity here….

#Leaded: Clear Glass Water Bottle, Acqua Panna Toscana

Posted on
3 Comments
Acqua Panna Toscana Italian Glass Water Bottle: 84 +/- 18 ppm Lead (Pb), 15 +/- 7 ppm Cadmium (Cd). This is considered within the “safe” range for consumer goods.  To my knowledge at the time of publishing this post, no one has studied the impact of low-level lead content in beverage containers on the beverages…

Himalayan Pink Salt lamp: Lead-free [down to single-digit-ppm range]. Himalayan salt: safe for lamps (but not safe in food!).

Posted on
19 Comments
Originally Published: December 2, 2017 When tested with an XRF instrument, the Himalayan Pink Salt lamp pictured here had the following readings: Lead (Pb): Non-Detect / Negative Cadmium (Cd): Non-Detect / Negative Mercury (Hg): Non-Detect / Negative Arsenic (As): Non-Detect / Negative Chromium: 923 ppm Note: Himalayan salt is safe for a lamp but not safe…

Do plastic Mardi Gras beads have an unsafe levels of Lead and Cadmium?

Posted on
0 Comments
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…

c. 2014 Littman Nurses’ Stethoscope: 1,828 ppm Lead in the tubing. Why is medical equipment positivie for ANY amount of Lead?

Posted on
3 Comments
3M Littman Brand Nurse’s stethoscope with red tubing: 1,828 ppm lead (What!!!!?) in the red tubing. New item owned by a professional nurse, tested in 2014. In my personal opinion medical equipment should not test positive for any Lead at all! The amount of Lead that is considered toxic in an item intended for use…

#Leaded: Vintage Turquoise Butterprint Pyrex Dish

Posted on
16 Comments
Vintage Pyrex Turquoise Butterprint Dish: 30,600 ppm lead. c. 1957-1968. The amount of lead that is considered unsafe for a modern / newly manufactured item intended for children is 90 parts per million (ppm) and higher. Vintage dishware is not regulated at all for total lead content. Thanks to Michael Tiffany for donating and supporting…
Starkey Spring Water 2 Miles Deep

#LeadFree: Glass Starkey Brand Spring Water Bottle

Posted on
2 Comments
Clear glass spring water bottle, Starkey brand. Tested with an XRF instrument. Non-detect for Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As) and Cadmium (Cd.) Thanks to Derek Robinson for donating and supporting this post! For more #SaferChoices for your family, click here. To make a contribution in support of my independent consumer goods testing and lead…

NuSpin Zoomie Straw Cup (sippy cup): Non-Detect for Lead, Mercury & Arsenic. Trace Cadmium in the straw.

Posted on
2 Comments
When tested with an XRF instrument, this NuSpin Zoomie Straw Cup, purchased new in 2017 had the following readings: Main plastic body of cup (including “painted” decorative elements): Lead (Pb): Non-detect (ND) / Negative Cadmium (Cd): Non-detect (ND) / Negative Mercury (Hg): Non-detect (ND) / Negative Arsenic (As): Non-detect (ND) / Negative Clear flexible silicone sippy straw: Lead (Pb): Non-detect…

#LeadFree: Decorated Metal Chopsticks

Posted on
2 Comments
Decorated (painted) metal chopsticks. Year unknown. Tested with an XRF instrument. Non-detect for Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg), Arsenic (As) and Cadmium (Cd.) It did not come up with an automatic stainless steel reading (meaning it is not a common stainless steel formulation), so to note… it also had 148,800 ppm Chromium (Cr), 9,052 ppm Nickel…

#LeadFree: Green Sprouts “Swim Friends” Foam Bath Toy

Posted on
0 Comments
Frog from the “Swim Friends” set of foam bath toys by Green Sprouts. Purchased in 2017. This item was negative (“non-detect”) for Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Arsenic (As), and Mercury (Hg.). This testing was done with an XRF instrument. Multiple tests of the object were done with the same results.. Here’s a link to this…