Ceramic Child’s mug with Teddy Bear: 15,000 ppm Lead. 90 ppm & up is illegal in modern items intended for use by kids.
Ceramic Baby Cup with Teddy Bear: 15,000 ppm lead. Tested with an XRF instrument. The current amount of lead that is considered toxic in an item intended for use by children is anything 90 ppm Lead and higher in the paint, glaze or coating and anything 100 ppm Lead or higher in the substrate. Items intended for…
Classic Ceramics California Pantry Mug
Classic Ceramics, California Pantry, 1998. Ceramic Mug, Made in Indonesia: 6,913 ppm lead, 532 ppm Cadmium. #XRFTesting FYI: The current amount of lead that is considered toxic in an item intended for children is anything over 90 ppm lead. Items intended for adults (including dishware) are generally unregulated for total lead content. Tamara Rating: F F = If you served…
Blue Corelle Stoneware Mug
Blue Corelle Ceramic Mug: 95 ppm Lead. Made in Thailand. #XRFTesting FYI: The current amount of lead that is considered toxic in an item intended for children is anything over 90 ppm lead. Items intended for adults (including dishware) are generally unregulated for total lead content. This mug would be considered safe by most standards. I would not…
“Classic Greek” Ceramic Coffee Cup!
Coffee cup , ceramic: no lead, no cadmium, no mercury! Woohoo! #XRFTesting FYI: The current amount of lead that is considered toxic in an item intended for children is anything over 90 ppm lead. Items intended for adults (including dishware) are generally unregulated for total lead content. For More Safer Choices For Your Family Click…
Ceramic Cow Creamer; Circa 2010
Ceramic cream cow: 85 ppm lead (purchased at Modcloth). #XRFTesting This item is considered lead-safe by all standards. The current amount of lead that is considered toxic in an item intended for children is anything over 90 ppm lead. Items intended for adults (including dishware) are generally unregulated for total lead content. For More Safer Choices For…
#Random, 6th Grade
Because this is my blog and I can post whatever I want here… I thought it would be fun/ funny to re-share this photo of my 6th grade class (Foster School, Mr. Collins, 1980, Hingham Mass!) with the world. Thanks Paula for sharing this photo with me. Looking back on the past provides so much…
Portland Public Schools Bond – Lead Crusade
My family received this in the mail yesterday (4/27/2017). It is a political mass mailing about the 2017 Portland Public Schools Bond Measure 26-193, coming up for a vote next month (here in Portland, Oregon – USA.) I will be writing a blog post about my thoughts in response to this bond this weekend and will link…
My “Top 11” #AdvocacyGoalsRevised
I am really enjoying reading all of the other / alternate memes of 10 that have come up…(based on the “10-concerts” game floating around Facebook right now)… – Here’s my version: – Top 10+ #LeadPoisoningPrevention Advocacy Goals/ Dreams: – 1. Change the national legislation so ALL SCHOOLS for ANY CHILD or ADULT ANY AGE (including colleges and graduate…
Facebook Reach (Past 28 days!) #MoreFunFacts
Here’s a chart showing the international impact of my Facebook reach for the past 28 days (on just one of my pages)… this is also a super fun set of information! Look at all the countries represented! There are three images below (because I could not capture the full chart in one screenshot) and they…
Fun with #SiteStats… Do I have an international reach? Why yes!
Today I answered a questionnaire that was sent to lead poisoning prevention advocates around the country. It wanted to know if I had a local, national or international reach. I checked “International” without really thinking about it… because off the top of my head I know I am working with/ helping families and other parent…
Across Los Angeles, toxic lead harms children in neighborhoods rich and poor
Here is the article that I helped with (behind the scenes) this past month. [I helped connect the journalist with families in Los Angeles whose children had been exposed to lead hazards.] A special thanks to my friends who took the time to chat with the reporter! The more personal stories we share about the issue,…
Are 3M LeadCheck Swabs “Safe”? I saw on the package that they contain LEAD!
Originally published December, 2013 Updated April 2017 I get this question every now and then – so I thought I would post the question and my answer here. I also asked the folks at 3M for their take: Question: Hi Tamara, I read the back of our lead testing kit, and was so disappointed to…
Lead-Away Sesame Street Video! (+ John Oliver)
Here’s the 1996 video from Sesame Street. “Lead Away!” And here’s the wonderful John Oliver piece that referenced it! (From April, 2016)
Vintage Strawberry Shortcake Glasses contain 87,500 ppm Lead — did you have this one?
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,…
Green Glass Desk Lamp
Library / desk lamp with green glass: 32,400 ppm lead (in the glass.) Tested with an XRF. Thoughts: Is this going to harm the owner? Probably not. Can we manufacture lead-free glass for items like this? Absolutely, yes. Is manufacturing items with high lead content harming the environment and potentially harming factory workers? Absolutely, yes. Can we strive to have lead-free homes and a lead-free…
Anchor Clear Glass Loaf Pan
Anchor Ovenware Loaf Pan: no lead – no mercury – no cadmium – no arsenic! I have these in my home, but this one belongs to my friend Gayle. Most modern clear glass is lead-free. Click here for more examples of testing of clear glass that I have done. Tested with an XRF. Apple included to show…
Wilson Tennis Racket
Wilson Tennis Racket: 5,684 ppm lead on handle. Tested with an XRF. Tennis rackets I have tested have gone either way, with some being positive for lead and some being negative. This is particularly concerning because it is the grippy part of the handle that tested positive for lead. These grips wear and deteriorate and are held…
Blue “Cornflower” Design Corningware Baking pan: Lead-Free (but this does not apply to all years of production for this pattern!)
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…
Pampered Chef Baking Tray: 24 ppm Lead (safe by all standards!)
Pampered Chef Baking Tray, c. 2013: 24 ppm Lead when tested with an XRF instrument. This is considered safe by all standards. The amount of lead that is regulated and considered unsafe in items manufactured and intended for use by children is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint or coating (or 100 ppm…
Anthropologie Glass Knob
Anthropologie Glass Cabinet Knob: 23,800 ppm lead (on the metal component.) Also positive for 118 ppm cadmium. Gosh! They have a whole section of their website that is just KNOBS! It would be super fun to test all of them! If you appreciate what I do (XRF testing of consumer goods and sharing the results…
Q: I’m concerned that the original bathtub that came with my older home might have Lead. What should I do?
Originally Posted June 17, 2014 Updated April 2017 Question from Lucy (Via MisLEAD: America’s Secret Epidemic Facebook Page). QUESTION: Hi Tamara, We just bought a new house and it has the original bathtub (1956). What would be the best and most effective way to test for lead? I’d also like to test dishes, toys, water….
Ball Jar Straws!
Ball Jar Straws: Non-Detect for Lead, Non-Detect for Cadmium, Non-Detect for Arsenic, Non-Detect for Mercury! Overall a great product. If you want to see this on Amazon, click here. The exact straw I tested is the image at the bottom of this post. If you appreciate what I do (XRF testing of consumer goods and sharing…
How you can help – when shopping on Amazon, just as you normally do!
For those who have asked to help support my advocacy work by using shopping links on Amazon… In April if you click first on any of the sidebar ads on any page of my website (TamaraRubin.com) before you start shopping on Amazon, I will earn up to 12% for any purchases made in April – that are…
My friend Carissa wrote a book!
Carissa is my amazing friend – who has (nearly single-handedly) pulled me out of the funk I have been in over the past year (in the chaos following the surprise attack, decimation and near extinguishment of a huge chunk of my life’s work – the nonprofit I founded.) Carissa helped me set myself up as an Amazon Affiliate…