For the kids’ birthdays we have decided to schedule a visit from the shave ice truck for the neighborhood!
The Kona Ice* (Hawaiian shave ice) truck is going to come park on the street outside our house on Sunday, July 26, 2020 from 4:30 – 5:15 p.m.! If you are local (and if your kids need a distraction) please come buy a shave ice (for yourself and your kids)! My kids will also probably…
XRF test results for “sketchy” dental implant: Cobalt, Chromium, Nickel, Molybdenum, Titanium, Vanadium.
Dental Implant My readers have sent me in some interesting things for testing (for a variety of reasons!) including this “dental implant” (as described by the reader). The reader sent this item to me because he was concerned about the possible presence – and impact – of toxic heavy metals in his implant [which he…
Promotional metal straw with red coating [a promotional item given to one of my readers by a realtor]: positive for trace level of Arsenic
Promotional Metal Straw Promotional materials (giveaways – from your realtor, dentist, doctor, contractor, hairdresser, etc.) are often not tested to the strict standards that a reputable company might use to test their branded products / products made for sale to consumers. As a result, I quite regularly find promotional items testing positive for toxicants (Lead, Mercury, Cadmium,…
IKEA Marius stool with plastic seat and metal legs: 136 ppm Lead & 128 ppm Antimony (considered safe by most standards.)
When tested with a high-precision XRF Instrument, the Ikea Marius stool (black plastic seat with black enameled metal legs) pictured here had the following readings. Plastic top of stool – 60 seconds: Lead (Pb): 136 +/- 13 ppm Antimony (Sb): 64 +/- 21 ppm Barium (Ba): 2,619 +/- 123 ppm Bromine (Br): 216 +/- 9…
Yellow powder coated metal Naxos outdoor dining chair from Cost Plus World Market: Lead-free, Cadmium-free, Arsenic-free.
When tested with an XRF Instrument, the yellow powder coated Naxos outdoor dining chair (from Cost Plus World Market – pictured here) had the following readings: Barium (Ba): 11,100 +/- 300 ppm Chromium (Cr): 2,893 +/- 421 ppm Tin (Sn): 128 +/- 58 ppm Zinc (Zn): 537 +/- 153 ppm Cobalt (Co): 22,200 +/- 1,700…
Wooden Hebrew building block for children (c. 2010): Lead-free, Arsenic-free, Mercury-free. Thank G-d!
Here’s a link to a product like this block on Amazon. [The designs and lettering look the same but the color scheme is different, however I am not 100% sure the blocks in the link are the same manufacturer as the block tested]: https://amzn.to/2OQsLPJ Please note, different batches of painted wooden toys may come up…
Smoke colored glass and stone mosaic tiles: 53 ppm Lead + 125 ppm Cadmium.
XRF test reading for the tile pictured here: #1.) Dark smoke colored tiles – images above Tin (Sn): 61 +/- 17 ppm Iron (Fe): 340 +/- 201 ppm Titanium (Ti): 102 +/- 49 ppm no other metals detected #2.) Medium smoke glass colored tiles Tin (Sn): 72 +/- 19 ppm Iron (Fe): 1,018 +/- 280 ppm…
Ledljus Ikea string lights (indoor & outdoor use): 23,800 ppm Antimony plus trace Lead & Arsenic
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,…
A reader posted this comment on my earlier post about systemic racism: Knowledge is Neither Neutral Nor Apolitical (April 1971). It’s brilliant.
I wanted to share the PDF from a document that a reader of my blog (who I have known for years via this advocacy community) posted as a comment on my earlier post about systemic racism in the role of perpetuating Lead poisoning. This (read the full statement in the first image below) is brilliant…
How the Lead industry deliberately utilized systemic racism to deflect blame for poisoning generations of children
Note: My husband and I have been working on writing this article for a few weeks now. We have done our best to present this information in a way that gives the reader historical context and demonstrates these issues as endemic in for-profit-industry over the past century and beyond. The opinions we have expressed here…
Now and then I share my site stats with my readers so you can see why I am so grateful for your support of this work.
Scroll down to see full full-sized chart! 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…
Typical fire hydrant: 281,300 ppm Lead. 90 ppm Lead (& up) is unsafe for kids. Please keep kids away from hydrants!
A typical fire hydrant Fire hydrants are attractive to children. They are at child-height. They are often painted in bright colors. Children like the idea of firemen as heroes, so a hydrant is an object that evokes a certain cultural excitement for little kids. Children LOVE to play on them, touch them, and hover around…
Lead poisoning prevention is political. This is a post I wrote on the Lead Safe Mama Facebook page (July 20, 2020).
I wrote the following in response to all of the comments on my LeadSafeMama Facebook page recently (comments from my readers specifically asking me to stop sharing political posts on my Facebook page): Click through to Facebook here to read all of the comments (68 as of the moment of publishing here on my website!)…
Vintage 1972 Wooden Fisher Price puzzle. 3,925 ppm Cadmium on the knobs. Cadmium is a known carcinogen.
Are vintage Fisher Price puzzles a concern? Yes. A child will often chew on the knobs on this type of puzzle and these knobs (yellow or red) are consistently high-Cadmium vintage plastic. Cadmium causes cancer. Even if the risk is small it is not a risk that I feel is worth it given the inexpensive…
“Crazy Korean Cooking” Premium Korean Dolsot Stone Bowl: *Lead-free, as advertised* (Rare!)
Scroll down below the images to see the full XRF test results. Crazy Korean Cooking Ceramic Bowl This Korean ceramic cooking bowl is Lead-Free (as advertised on their packaging). It is not, however, technically entirely Cadmium-Free — as there are traces of Cadmium – in the red part of the logo (on the underside of the bowl). This…
The National Lead Company used kids as a tool to help market & sell toxic Lead Paint to parents via booklets like this one.
The National Lead Company used kids as a tool to help market & sell toxic Lead Paint products to their parents via children’s activity booklets like this “Dutch Boy Paint and Question Book” (c. 1932?) A little background: Historians David Rosner and Jerry Markowitz have discussed the marketing materials and strategies of The National Lead…
How did you spend your stimulus check? Here’s how we spent ours… (from a mother of 4 giant – & growing – boys!)
Friday – July 17, 2020 shoes socks underwear groceries college paint Here’s how the Rubin Family spent our CoViD-19 stimulus funds… I wanted to share this (fairly personal bit of information) with my readers for a few reasons… With readers of this blog in “over 200 countries” (per Google Analytics), I thought it might be…
Ten Minutes with Tamara; Episode #1! July 17, 2020 – chatting with Sharlena in Wisconsin.
I started this vide conversation series as a way to connect with my readers, friends and followers personally. To answer what questions I can and to direct them to other resources as necessary. The concept is YOU ask me two questions and I ask You two questions! So far each of the episodes has gone…
Horns Bee aluminum “stash canister”: 19 ppm Cadmium but Lead-free, Antimony-free & Arsenic-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…
Stella and Dot reversible necklace: 59 ppm Cadmium in the clasp – but otherwise: Lead-free, Arsenic-free, Antimony-free.
When tested with an XRF Instrument the necklace pictured here had the following readings: Orange side of enamel: Nb: 1,376 +/- 143 ppm Bismuth (Bi): 151 +/- 74 ppm Tin (Sn): 11,500 +/- 1,200 ppm Gold (Au): 6,222 +/- 1,148 ppm Zinc (Zn): 85,100 +/- 5,900 ppm Copper (Cu): 319,600 +/- 20,000 ppm Indium (In):…
Brown glazed (faux stone look) ceramic tile samples: Lead-free, Cadmium-free, Arsenic-free, Antimony-free!
Brown glazed ceramic tile samples. I will post more information about this tile after I hear back from the owner (if she knows the brand / source information). Sample 1 – Dark brown glazed front of tile Barium (Ba): 470 +/- 69 ppm Chromium (Cr): 6,155 +/- 389 ppm Zirconium (Zr): 19,400 +/- 700 ppm…
Light brown glazed (faux stone look) ceramic tile samples: 30 ppm Lead + Cadmium-free, Arsenic-free, Antimony-free!
Brown ceramic tile sample. I will post more information about this tile after I hear back from the owner (if she knows the brand / source information). Sample 1 – Brown glazed front of tile Barium (Ba): 965 +/- 85 ppm Chromium (Cr): 4,208 +/- 306 ppm Zirconium (Zr): 16,200 +/- 600 ppm Zinc (Zn):…
Smolder titanium pipe screen for glass smoking pipes: Lead-free, Cadmium-free, Arsenic-free, Mercury-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…
Horns Bee metal tobacco grinder with screen: Lead-free, Cadmium-free, Arsenic-free, Mercury-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…