Have you thought about lead exposure lately?

If you thought that we’re only exposed to lead through chips of old paint, that’s sadly not true.  Many new consumer products, even those that are made for children, have startlingly-high levels of lead in them.  

It all began when I was recovering from flu and I had lost some sense of taste and smell (not COVID because the test was negative).  Even my favorite brew of coffee did not taste right.  It's true that flu can affect your sense of smell and taste, but I was a few weeks post-flu and things still did not taste right.  Then I looked at my mug and something inside of me hinted at lead poisoning.  But, but, this was my favorite set of mugs!  True, they had a few chips and fine cracks in the glazing…well maybe it was time to upgrade.  Pain has a way of bumping up priorities, so I did some research before hitting “purchase” on a new set of lead-free mugs and glasses.

So, doing some research, lead in vintage cups is not uncommon, and it can be elevated even in new food, foodware, toys, jewelry, etc.  But, doesn’t the FDA regulate these things?  Occasionally they do issue recalls, such as on March 6, 2024, when the FDA issued a safety alert advising consumers not to buy or eat certain ground cinnamon products because samples of these products were found to contain elevated levels of lead (A Conversation with FDA on Steps the Agency is Taking to Address Unsafe Levels of Lead Found in Cinnamon)  Sadly, the FDA is not able to test every consumer item for toxicants, and relies on manufacturers to abide by legislated or known safe levels of toxicants.  They are aware of certain categories that have high risk of containing significant lead (A Snapshot of Lead in Consumer Products Across Four US Jurisdictions):

• Spices, notably those internationally sourced from Southern Asia

• Imported pottery and ceramics, including those from Central America, and aluminum and brass cookware, from regions including Southern Asia

• Cosmetics and cultural powders, including those used for religious ceremonies

• Traditional health remedies from India, China and other countries used to treat a variety of ailments

• Metal, plastic or painted components of toys, jewelry, amulets, or charms

• Candy, due to inclusion of certain ingredients, such as chili powder, or contact with lead-contaminated wrappers.

There are so many routes of lead exposure that being aware of what we touch and ingest is paramount.  Actually, knowing your history is a good thing too.  For example, from the 1850s to mid-20th century, Trenton, New Jersey, was a major US pottery manufacturing center, home to more than 150 pottery factories26 where lead was commonly used as a glaze.27 Lead was released during the manufacturing process, impacting nearby residential properties and other areas of the city. Lead concentrations in soil currently exceed federal threshold levels at several parks and school playgrounds, prompting testing of more than 100 residential properties in East Trenton. (Invited Perspective: Why Aren’t We Doing More to Ensure Consumer Products Are Free of Lead?)  What kinds of industries were prominent in your neighborhood before you were even born?

That said, I applaud the citizen scientists like Tamara Rubin, who tests household items and foods and publishes her work on leadsafemama.com.  Tamara has been instrumental in getting foods and products called out and recalled for not only high amounts of lead, but also arsenic, mercury, and other toxic metals.  The XRF equipment she uses is not cheap–new models run from $35,000 to $50,000, and require registration and extensive training to use. 

Here are some facts that may make you more vigilant about lead in your home:

• Lead is measured in parts per billion (ppb), and over 90 ppb is considered hazardous to children.  It just takes a (literally) microscopic amount of Lead dust to poison a human. Experts often use this mental exercise to help visualize Lead’s extreme toxicity: “One sugar-packet worth of Lead dust, if sprinkled evenly across an entire football field, would be enough to contaminate that entire football field to nearly eight times the amount that would poison a child.” Therefore, Tamara suggests that heat-stripping, chemical-stripping, dipping, sanding or otherwise salvaging an antique wooden door or window is NOT WORTH the potential exposure to lead dust, and these methods cannot remove the lead left in the grain of the wood. (Here’s how to remove Lead paint from antique doors and windows for decor purposes)  

• With the craze over vintage pyrex and like dishes, many people ask “what’s the harm if the lead is only on the outside of the dish?”  Of course, we’ve all seen how the red/orange paint has faded to a light rust color as the item aged, and where does the paint go?  It goes on your hands whenever you touch it.  It goes in your dishwasher or sink, all over your “lead-free” dishes.  It goes onto the inside of the nestled/stacked dish under it.   And, Tamara has several stories of children who were poisoned by a few pieces of dish and glassware that were used every day. (story 1)(story 2) 

• If you are renovating and demolishing ceramic tile, you need to be acutely aware of the amount of lead dust that can be released.  In most tested tiles, it is the glaze (shiny part) that contains the most lead.  When the tile is cleaned with abrasive or acidic materials (like vinegar–a very popular “organic” cleaner!), the glaze can degrade, releasing lead into the environment, even you bare feet.  In this article, Tamara showed a picture of a tiled countertop that was installed new in a home in 1992 that contained 43,900ppm lead.  Here’s what Tamara recommends on testing and dealing with a tile floor that has not been tested: 

• I would start by testing it with a LeadCheck swab. If it is positive with a LeadCheck swab I would get it removed immediately by a certified EPA RRP Contractor, a contractor who would specifically work with a focus on containing any dust. Here’s my Amazon affiliate link for Lead Check swabs: https://amzn.to/2Jbk6Ux

• If it is not positive with a LeadCheck swab that does not mean it does not have Lead, but I would follow up by getting it tested with an XRF to confirm if it were negative or positive. Here’s a post with more information about that: https://tamararubin.com/2016/02/tomorrow/

Lead is not easy to avoid, because it was used to make products “better”: more shiny, more durable, more combustible (in the case of gasoline)… and now, it’s hard to know because even vitamins by reputable brands are turning up with lead in them.  What to do?  If you feel that you may have lead in the dishes or decor of your home, you can:

• Check Tamara’s website (start here)

• Send a piece in to her for testing (read this article first)

• Support her mission by buying lead-free items through her Amazon affiliate page

• View the MisLEAD documentary she’s produced, which includes her own family story about lead poisoning.

• Don't be silenced by "we ate off those dishes all our lives and nothing happened"...or did it?  There are many symptoms in adults and children that could be due to lead poisoning.  Spread the word about all the symptoms and unexpected sources of lead!

Photo by Ohlucinda on Unsplash