Several months ago, a mom who lives nearly 3,000 miles away from where I live in Portland, Oregon contacted me to see if there was any chance I could come to her home to help her. She had just learned that her 13-year-old kiddo tested positive for a very high level of Lead (via a 24-hour urine test) and she was stumped as to what the exposure source could be.
[This post is shared with written permissions by Tamara Rubin of Lead Safe Mama because we want to you all to thrive!]
The boy’s Lead test results are in the image below.
His Lead level was literally “off the chart.”
Once presented with these test results, the family examined their life and their home for potential sources of Lead — but could not determine the cause of the child’s poisoning. They live in a new-construction home, and none of the “regular suspects” are in their home [vintage toys, antique furniture, work- or hobby-related Lead dust tracked-in on a parent’s clothes/shoes, etc.]!
The child’s doctor said to his parents that with a level “as high as that” the only plausible explanation was that their son “was likely eating lead”, which mom knew was simply not the case. [Just about any mom would know if her son was eating Lead!
Her son had been sick since he was about two years old (so for nearly 12 years!) with a host of symptoms and cluster of related proposed diagnoses [his symptoms included arthritic joints – and he wasn’t yet 14 years old!] The mom shared with me that she was spending thousands of dollars on supplements, doctor visits and therapies – yet her kiddo did not seem to be getting better.
This was the first time any doctor had actually ever thought to test him for Lead.
I went to her home, and initially found just a few minor suspect things, but not much really. The Oriental-style carpet was positive for a low level of Lead – in the 300 ppm range.
The leather sofa was also positive for a low level of lead (also about 300 ppm). It would only be a concern if it were in a home with a very young child chewing on the leather (and was not likely to cause the very high levels of Lead the doctor had found in her child’s test results.)
Then we looked at her kitchen. Again, the home was new construction – no Lead hazards in the paint or construction materials were evident. In fact, when the paint in the home was tested (by multiple methods) it was completely negative for Lead.
But her dishes were another matter…
Mom showed me the dishes that her children ate and drank out of with every meal. These included some Mikasa plates (about 20 years old, purchased new, shortly after their wedding, in 2000) and a set of small crystal juice glasses, including the one pictured here.
I asked her when her child last used these for a meal and her response was “20 minutes before you got here.”
When tested with an XRF instrument, the glass turned out to be very high-Lead-content Leaded crystal, and the simple cream-colored Mikasa dishes also tested positive for a very high level of Lead. Together, it seemed that these two sources of exposure, items used every day by the boy – many times a day, were the most probable suspect/ contributing factors generating his acute (and chronic) Lead exposure. The exposure is acute because of the level of Lead the doctor found (shown in the test result above) and chronic because the exposure has been going on for many years. This is truly among the type of situations that I would classify as a worst-case-scenario.
At 351,400 ppm Lead, this glass is likely the source of a boy’s mysterious poisoning. 90 ppm+ is illegal in kids’ items.
The tragic irony is that each day mom would give her kiddo a glass of juice (or water) in this Leaded crystal glass to help him chase down the many supplements he took several times a day to combat his symptoms. She gasped when she realized this was the case.
When (together) we figured out – given the absence of any other obvious source – it was likely the plates and the crystal glasses that were causing his exposure, we both cried a bit.
This makes me furious. It makes me furious that companies can get away with creating high-Lead products that can potentially poison families. It makes me furious that there is no accountability. And it makes me furious that there is almost no public awareness about this concern.
It’s also maddening to me that all of the healthcare providers and other resources this mama contacted were not able to help her identify the – sadly, quite common – source of her son’s cluster of symptoms (Lead-poisoning), nor have the awareness or tools to look beyond the obvious for the source(es) — and that it took me (another mom of Lead-poisoned kiddos) visiting with her in person and seeing her home and evaluating her possessions (and walking through how her kids interact with her home and contents each day) to figure this out. There should be an army of us out there doing this (helping other moms protect their children!)
How can we make that happen?
I cannot tell you how many times I have met very smart, well-intentioned, college-educated parents who had no idea that their crystal glasses might be as much as 50% Lead and be poisoning their family. It’s not part of our public consciousness as a concern.
Here are the exact readings for the glass
When tested with an XRF instrument, the small juice glass used by the boy (the glass pictured here on this post) had the following reading set:
- Lead (Pb): 351,400 +/- 25,000 ppm [that’s 35% LEAD!]
- Bromine (Br): 113 +/- 43 ppm
- Zinc (Zn): 15,500 +/- 1,200 ppm
These three metals were the only metals detected in this cut crystal glass. [Note in the picture that the boy had actually etched the glass with his initials to mark it as his!] The amount of Lead that is considered unsafe (and illegal) in newly-manufactured items “intended for use by children” is anything 90 ppm Lead or higher in the paint, glaze or coating, or anything 100 ppm Lead or higher in the substrate (Leaded crystal would be considered a substrate). Dishware is not considered to be “an item intended for use by children” – and, as such, is exempt from this regulatory standard – UNLESS it is something expressly sold as an item for children (like baby dishes).
Please read more about the concern for Lead in crystal here.
Please never give your children ANYTHING in Leaded crystal [or fancy/ornate heavy glass items you suspect might be Leaded crystal]. I always advocate for removing any and all crystal items from the home – and thereby prevent an ongoing poisoning. This includes “grandma’s wedding crystal” – you really don’t want to hand that stuff down to your kids; don’t be responsible for the potential of poisoning your grandkids or great grandkids in the future. Perhaps the Jewish tradition of smashing a glass during the wedding ceremony (with the glass contained in a non-permeable fully sealed bag to contain all the chips!) is something everyone should take up!
For some Lead-free glassware choices, click here.
Also, check out: Tamara Rubin Tests.
As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Tamara Rubin
#LeadSafeMama
See post on Corelle Butterfly Pattern: 23,300 ppm Lead
Visit Tamara Rubin from Lead Safe Mama! I love that she does this to make people aware!
Thanks for reading!
Lorinda says
Yikes! So, I also have cream( or off white) colored Mikasa dishes that were on our wedding registry…we married the same year as the Mom in your story. Would you be able to share the dish pattern. I wonder if it is the same pattern.
Sarah says
I also would like to know how to test dishes for lead. Although we got married in the late 2000s, we too use cream Mikasa dishes. Do you know if it was a stoneware or china pattern that was the culprit?
Jacqueline says
Sarah, I personally do not know an accurate test other than what Tamara uses. I would encourage you to reach out to her about the Mikasa dishes! ~J
Vicki says
I wonder why the rest of the family did not show the same symptoms.
Susan says
Yes, I am wondering the same thing as Vicki above, if the rest of the boy’s family ate and drank out of the same dishes?
Jacqueline says
Hi, Vicki! I think just the child took his supplements with those glasses…not sure, but I’m sure they would have, too, if they were using them!
Diana says
So he drank from that glass once a day and it poisoned him?
GenaT says
I think it said he drank orange juice from that glass as well. The orange juice, being acid, I think, would have drawn the lead out. I remember reading an article a long time ago, which had said that back when the lead crystal first came out, lots of people died of lead poisoning before people figured out why, and the crystal became a fixture of china cabinets instead of being used to eat and drink with. I am fairly sure mother told me that some of the crystal she had inherited from her grandmother had been used for family dinners on Sundays. Mostly the butter dish, sugar bowl, that type stuff.
Jacqueline says
Gena, it does makes sense that the acid increased the leaching of lead. It had not occurred to me, though, until you mentioned it! My mom also mentioned the problem with leaded crystal and we just never used it except for a toast and a cheer! Thank you!
Jacqueline says
Hi, Diana, yes, apparently so. It is know to be very toxic, but many people have forgotten with time.
Jacqueline says
Hi, Diana,
Yes, apparently so. Ii is so sad to me! Leaded crystal is known to be very toxic, but many people have forgotten with time.
GenaT says
Mother had a huge collection of lead cut crystal from both her side and the family and my father’s side when she passed away, including two very large pitchers and punchbowls. The punchbowls were depression era. Each punchbowl had a set of 12 matching juice glasses. She had never used them and I had not even known about them until she died some 20 years ago. I sold them to an antique store for a nice sum of money. She had told me long ago that lead cut crystal was not safe to use for eating or drinking due to the lead content. She had also had all the usual lead cut crystal that seemed to be considered top wedding gifts back in the 40s and before. It was really beautiful stuff, but I sure am glad she knew better than to use it. Not sure how she had found that out, because all she had had was a basic high school education. But she did read a lot and was very intelligent.
I was not aware that so many people were still ignorant of the dangers of using that stuff. She had also had a large collection of hand painted china plates and pitchers, which had been from her mother’s and my father’s mother’s teen years, the very early 1900s. Have no idea how safe the paints they would have used back then were. She sold them to my china painting teacher around 1990. They were literally beautiful. They looked like something you would find in a museum.
Kat says
Is just having lead crystal or china in the home unused a concern? Do antique shops still want this stuff?
Jacqueline says
Kat, I would not want it in my home. It is conceivable that others may not be aware of the dangers (once I am gone and would not be there to warn them), so I would destroy it instead of sell it to an antique store buyer. I hope that helps! ~J