FAPE

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Here’s Wikipedia’s post on FAPE – click the image below to read the full post.  If you have good links that will help other parents looking into FAPE considerations (especially for parents who have been  denied appropriate free education for their children), please add the links as a comment below. Thank you! Sincerely, Tamara Rubin…

Back to school shopping!

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Please consider starting your back-2-school shopping with my Amazon affiliate links. TIA! To start, grab yourself some #LeadFreePencils  (we LOVE our Ticonderogas!) (Here’s our back-to-school shopping list!) http://amzn.to/2uSA7FY With each affiliate link purchase (from Amazon) I earn a percentage of what you buy at no extra cost to you!  For an update of how much I have…

XRFTesting; Pricing

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Updated August 14, 2017 Hello All! To date, participating in XRF testing has primarily helped only with the cost of the testing and costs related to making it possible for me to coordinate the testing (transportation, shipping, etc.).= I am changing the model a little bit in order to make it more predictable for me…

#AskTamara: Can I send you a box of my stuff to have it tested for Lead (so you can report the results on your site, too!)?

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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…

#AskTamara: Does my fidget spinner have unsafe levels of lead? 31 answers in 90 seconds! (video)

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#AskTamara Question: Does my child’s fidget spinner have unsafe levels of lead?  Answer: This video has 31 answers in just 90 seconds! [Scroll down to watch the video at the bottom of the post.] The video linked below shows the test results for 31 of the “fidget spinners” I tested (in no particular order), using an XRF…

#LeadedTrumpetMouthpieces: A response to a band leader…

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Band leaders across the country are understandably upset about my findings of lead in trumpet mouthpieces. The easy response for some is to not believe my findings and to try to discredit them (at least in their own minds) so that they feel that they do not need to alert their band members, nor take any…

Wow! (June 2017)

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Between “Fidget Spinners” and “Walmart Jelly Shoes”… more people visited this site in June 2017 than ever before, a total of 71,945 unique visits.  Thank you so much for visiting and please keep the questions coming! Sincerely, Tamara Rubin “Unexpected Lead Expert” Mother of Four Sons To support my independent advocacy work, please consider contributing…

#FidgetSpinner: Rainbow Oval

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Metal Oval, Rainbow Finish. (picture is below) Lead Testing Results: ND/ Non-Detect for Lead with an XRF Instrument. #LeadFree. [FYI: made of nickel, copper and zinc!] Look at Fidget Spinner Testing Video #3, from June 16th. Purchase Price: Approximately $8.99 Date Purchased: May 2017 (?) Brought to me by Daizee (in Portland) Vendor/ Brand: Unknown / No Maker’s…

#FidgetSpinner: “Rose Gold” Color

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Lighter weight “rose gold” colored metal spinner with three points. (picture is below) Lead Testing Results: 62 +/- 15 ppm lead (this is within acceptable levels of lead for a toy intended for children.) Look at Fidget Spinner Testing Video #3, from June 16th. Purchase Price: Approximately $7.70 Date Purchased: May 2017 (?) Brought to me by Daizee (in Portland)…

#AskTamara: How can I make sure my Pizza cutter is Lead-free? Which pizza cutters do you use in your home?

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#AskTamara Hello friends! This probably falls into the range of #OddQuestionsForTheDay… (aka: things I haven’t been asked about yet in all my years of doing this!) The following pictures and links are affiliate links* on Amazon, so if you choose to purchase any of these items after clicking, I will receive a small percentage of…

#FidgetSpinner: Stainless (“Star” configuration?)

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Stainless Steel Spinner with Removable Points. Lead Testing Results: ND/ Non-Detect, “Negative” – Safe! Purchase Price: Could not find this exact item online. Date Purchased: May 2017 (?) Sent in by a friend in New York City Vendor/ Brand: Unknown / No Maker’s Mark – link to similar one on Amazon here.* *I am including my affiliate link for the…

#FidgetSpinner: Green/ Yellow with Red Bearings

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Green & Yellow Plastic Spinner with Red and Silver Bearing Circles. Lead Testing Results: ND/ Non-Detect, “Negative” – Safe! Purchase Price: Could not find this exact item online. Date Purchased: May 2017 (?) Sent in by Tara in Farmington, New York Vendor/ Brand: Unknown / No Maker’s Mark – link to similar one on Amazon here.*  *I am including…

#FidgetSpinner: American Flag

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American Flag Design Plastic Spinner with Solid Black Bearing Circles. Lead Testing Results: ND/ Non-Detect, “Negative” – Safe! Purchase Price: Could not find this exact item online. Date Purchased: May 2017 (?) Sent in by Tara in Farmington, New York Vendor/ Brand: Unknown / No Maker’s Mark – link to similar one on Amazon here.*  *I am including my…

#FidgetSpinner: Pink Plastic Camo

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Pink Camo Design Plastic Spinner with Solid Black Bearing Circles. Lead Testing Results: ND/ Non-Detect, “Negative” – Safe! Purchase Price: Could not find this exact item online. Date Purchased: May 2017 (?) Sent in by Tara in Farmington, New York Vendor/ Brand: Unknown / No Maker’s Mark – link to similar one on Amazon here.*  *I am including…

#FidgetSpinner: White Plastic

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White Plastic Spinner with Black Bearing Circles. Lead Testing Results: ND/ Non-Detect, “Negative” – Safe! Purchase Price: Could not find this exact item online. Date Purchased: May 2017 (?) Sent in by Tara in Farmington, New York Vendor/ Brand: Unknown / No Maker’s Mark – link to similar one on Amazon here.* *I am including my affiliate link…

#FidgetSpinner: Metallic Rainbow with Brass Center

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Sent in by: Melanie in Portland. Lead Testing Result: Positive for lead (Pb) at a very high level. Lead Level: 32,900 ppm lead. [Hazard level for items intended for use by children (including toys) is anything 90 ppm lead or higher.] Purchase Price: $4.28 Purchase Date: May 23, 2017 Vendor/ Brand: Atesson* (Affiliate link. Appears to be…

#FidgetSpinner: Metal with Rainbow Finish

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Sent in by: Melanie in Portland. Color: Metallic Rainbow with Metallic Rainbow Center Dot. Lead Testing Result:  SUPRISE! This one was NEGATIVE for lead! (ND / Non-Detect). Purchase Date: May 26, 2017. Purchase Price: $8.46. Vendor/ Brand: “Finger Spinner“?* *I am including my affiliate link for the fidgets I can find on Amazon, however given the…

#FidgetSpinner: Orange Camo Plastic

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Orange Camo Plastic Spinner with Black Bearing Circles. Lead Testing Results: 85 +/- 23 ppm lead. Very LOW – considered SAFE by all standards! Purchase Price: Could not find this exact item online. Date Purchased: June 2017 (?). Vendor/ Brand: Hyperdictive Camo Fidget Spinner (Camo Flame) [affiliate link]* *I am including my affiliate link for the fidgets I…

#FidgetSpinner: XDesign Black Plastic

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Sent in by: Sheryl (Minnesota). Black Plastic. Lead Test Result: Positive. Lead Level: 129 +/- 85 ppm, VERY LOW, considered safe by all standards. Purchase Price: $12.99. Date Purchased: June 2017. Vendor/ Brand: “XDesign” [affiliate link]* *I am including my affiliate link for the fidgets I can find on Amazon, however given the unpredictability of these products and the…

#FidgetSpinner: White Plastic

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White Plastic with Black Bearing Circles. Made in China. Lead Testing Results: Negative/ ND / “Non-Detect” for Lead. Purchase Price: $3.86. Date Purchased: June 2017. Sent in by Martina in Texas (direct from Amazon.) Vendor/ Brand: LeShop Fidget Spinner White [affiliate link]* *I am including my affiliate link for the fidgets I can find on Amazon, however given the…

#AskTamara – Question: Do Walmart jelly shoes have Lead? & if not, why do people think they do? [Video]

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In response to concern of parents around the country about the potential for lead (Pb) contamination in “Jelly Shoes” sold by Walmart, I decided to take a trip to Walmart with my friend Carissa from Creative Green Living and to bring with us an X-Ray fluorescence spectrometer (also called an XRF or an XRF Instrument),…