Pottery Barn Portugese Dish: 363 ppm Lead. 90 ppm is unsafe in kids’ items [but dishes aren’t used by kids, right?]
White Pottery Barn Plate; hand crafted in Portugal. When tested with an XRF instrument this white glazed ceramic plate came in at levels as high as 363 ppm Lead. Dishes are not considered “items intended for use by children”… For context, the amount of Lead that is considered illegal (and unsafe) in anything manufactured today…
Pottery Barn Dishes, “Spiral” Pattern
Pottery Barn Spiral Pattern Dishes. Tested with an XRF. 69 to 142 ppm lead. This is considered within safe-range by most standards. Tested c. 2014. Newer dishes. To see the #LeadFree dishes I use in my home, click here. For more #SaferChoices for your family, click here. To make a contribution in support of my…
October 2015 Recall of Pottery Barn Kids Water Bottles
This is one of the reasons (just one of them) that “Pottery Barn” is on my #ShitList. They have had too many issues for me to trust them as a company, or for me to recommend any portion of their product lines as being even lead-safe. Sort of poetic that their initials are PB! While…
Pottery Barn Green “Swirl” Ceramic Bowl: 5,215 ppm Lead. 90 is unsafe for kids’ items.
When tested with an XRF instrument this Pottery Barn Brand Swirl pattern bowl (different than “Spiral” which we also have pics of!) tested positive for 5,215 ppm Lead. This bowl was tested and photographed in 2014 and is a fairly recently made product, although I don’t know the exact year of manufacture. [if you have more…
Vintage 1951 Book – Sex Without Fear: 226 ppm Lead + 24 ppm Arsenic.
1951 printing “Sex Without Fear” (OMG! LOL! This was my great-uncle’s – he was a doctor & this is a prescription book!) Cover: 226 ppm lead & 24 ppm arsenic. Pages: 24 ppm lead. New books are generally lead-free! 90 ppm lead and higher is considered unsafe for any items intended for use by children….
Vintage Book: Come to The Farm, 1949
Vintage book, circa 1949, used in a library through 1962. XRF readings for lead were between 700 and 1400 ppm (pages and covers). The amount of lead that is considered unsafe for children in a newer item manufactured and sold today is 90 ppm lead or higher. This reading was done with a Niton XRF…
Vintage Metal Desk, c. 1960s?
Vintage metal office desk, 2,898 ppm lead… AND the leaded paint is peeling and chipping… and this was in a new construction home that otherwise had no lead paint hazards. [368 ppm arsenic too!] Please think twice before bringing peeling chipping painted vintage furniture into your homes. Thank you! For #SaferChoices for your family, click…
Vintage Vinyl Measuring Tape (for Sewing): 19,900 ppm Lead. [90 ppm Lead is unsafe for kids.]
Originally posted, November 19, 2017 Link to this post on Facebook (so you can share it!) Measuring Tape – Soft Plastic, Made in China. When tested with a Niton XRF instrument it was positive for Lead with the following reading: 19,900 parts per million (ppm). To learn more about XRF testing, Click Here. Later I thought…
Tape Measures: Contractor Grade — is your measuring tape Lead-free?
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…
Vintage (1980s?) Fisher Price sorting toy for infants and toddlers
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)…
Vintage 1970s Fisher Price School Bus Toy: 90 ppm Lead
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…
#LeadFree: Vintage Fisher Price Family Play Farm Set – Barn
Regarding the items shown in the photo below: Fisher Price Family Play Farm Barn: Non-Detect” for Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Mercury (Hg) & Arsenic (As) when tested with an XRF instrument. All components tested. Fisher Price Green & White Toy Car: Also ND for Pb, Cd, Hg & As for all components. Fisher Price Little…
Vintage Fisher Price Plastic Toy Syringe: 6,331 ppm Lead. 90 ppm Lead (& up) in consumer goods is unsafe for kids.
Vintage Fisher Price Toy Syringe: 6,331 ppm Lead! When tested with an XRF instrument the vintage Fisher Price plastic toy syringe shown here was positive for 6,331 ppm Lead. How much Lead is too much Lead in a toy? The amount of Lead that is considered unsafe in a new/modern item intended for use by…
Vintage Lite-Brite, c. 1970s: 21,900 ppm Lead
When tested with an XRF instrument, the electrical cord on the vintage (c. 1970s) Lite-Brite pictured here was positive for 21,900 parts per million (ppm) Lead. [The hard plastic in the unit itself was negative for lead.] — The amount of lead that is considered unsafe in modern / newly manufactured items intended for children…
Vintage Purse (c. 1960s?): 6,060 ppm Lead. 90 ppm and up is unsafe for kids. Do your kids play with vintage purses?
Vintage purse, apprx. 6,060 ppm lead. Purses are not regulated for the presence of toxic chemicals (including lead.) Period. The amount of lead that is considered unsafe for a child (in consumer goods) is 90 ppm lead. —- While I am not saying “This purse will poison you,” I am saying there are hidden toxic chemicals in…
Vintage Fisher Price Parking Garage: 1,538 ppm Lead in the yellow plastic. 422 in the white. 90 ppm & up is unsafe for kids.
Test results for vintage Fisher Price Parking Garage: yellow plastic— 1,538 ppm lead white plastic 422 ppm lead #sigh. The amount of lead that is considered safe in a new/modern item intended for children is below 100 ppm in the substrate and below 90 ppm in the paint or coating. TIP: Avoid all vintage toys!…
Vintage Fisher Price Little People
Link to this post on Facebook so you can share it! Little People, Vintage: as high as 1,466 ppm lead Both the plastic substrate and painted faces contain unsafe levels of lead. With these little guys that is a big problem, because children ALWAYS seem to pop them in their mouths! And the part that…
Did Toxic Rum Kill These 19th Century British Soldiers
Original Article Published in Forbes May 11, 2016 “During the French Revolutionary Wars in the late 18th century, the British military was deployed to take over French possessions in the West Indies, and another West Indies campaign from 1804-1810 during the Napoleonic Wars saw the British military taking over the Caribbean. These campaigns were not without…
A pill to “cure” lead poisoning?
Interesting article and development (linked below), please do click through and give it a read! I agree with the critics quoted who have concerns about the practical limits of the possible ameliorative potential of this “pill.” My son Avi was just 7 months old when he was poisoned, and his brain was rapidly developing at…
Reuters Article: Despite Progress, Lead Hazards Vex New York
Read carefully and you might see my name – lol! Thanks for the mention Josh! Click the image below to read the full story! & here’s my chip-in link if you would like to support my advocacy!
New feature: “Contractor’s Corner” guest posts
November 14, 2017 We’re starting a new thing … a “Contractor’s Corner” – a forum for the genuinely committed professionals and pioneers in the construction, renovation, rehab and remediation trades to discuss the evolving art and science of effective lead-hazard remediation / lead poisoning prevention measures. This “Contractor’s Corner” is a place for EPA RRP…
#AskTamara: Where can I test for Lead using a LeadCheck Swab or other reactive agent home test?
Published: November 10, 2017 Q. (From Mama R, via Facebook): “I’m going to purchase a lead test kit on the weekend. Where do I test? I live in an old building (triplex). I’m not sure how old. We have lived here for two years. The apartment was painted before we moved in. My husband said…
Nov. 8, 2017: The time my work went viral & was featured on CBS This Morning for my discovery of Lead in fidget spinners.
Originally published: November 10, 2017 Scroll down for link to video on CBS This Morning Yesterday was a rollercoaster…each time my work goes viral, it presents a new swirl of chaos and more interviews to do (in 20 hours from 11/8 to 11/9 alone: four interviews, two radio and two television – both national and…
Update From Tamara: IRS, DOJ, LSAF, ETC.
UPDATE FROM TAMARA Monday, October 30, 2017 -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ This past Friday I learned that – in spite of the IRS’ official final determination that there was *no* financial impropriety at the nonprofit I founded in 2011 – the nonprofit has officially been *dissolved* (!!!!!) -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_ In 2011 I founded the nonprofit Lead Safe America Foundation….