Let me start by saying that I am not trying to scare anyone, I just want to provide information about what we find during environmental inspections that my company performs. It is ultimately up to you to understand your environment and make educated decisions as to what you and your children are exposed to.
In the past few years, we have heard all too frequently about lead and now cadmium found in children’s toys and children’s jewelry. Children’s products are regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which limits the amount of certain heavy metals in consumer products designed for children 12 years of age and younger. In my experience, toys typically have lower amounts and frequency of possessing lead, but do you know what is in your kitchen?
Recently I was out performing an in-home inspection specifically looking for lead for a family that had three young children, all with lead found in their blood. My company (Essco Safety Check) specializes in using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzers, which is a non-destructive, accurate, efficient testing source to determine if specific elements such as lead, cadmium, arsenic or mercury are present in virtually anything (toys, ceramics, jewelry, soil, structures, etc). In this particular home, there was actually very little lead found in the children’s products or in the structure of the home.
When we provide testing, we typically want to test the items that people, specifically children are routinely exposed to. I want to test the things that children put in their mouths, the items that they have regular contact with and could potentially be a source of harm. I never hope to find lead or other harmful toxicants, but it is typically found in the average home in a variety of different products, substrates and locations. I’m not here to say that these toxicants are going to harm or have harmed anyone; however, if present they maybe a potential source of harm.
After testing most of the children’s products that are used regularly and specifically placed in their children’s mouth, I proceeded to the kitchen to further analyze items that could potentially be the source of lead in the children. Now in my experience, the kitchen typically possesses the most amounts of potentially harmful metals, specifically in ceramics. This home did have some heavy metals in their ceramics, and in one case, a ceramic piece of cookware was found with lead over 5500 PPM.
With a ceramic, the most important thing to look at (besides the elemental makeup) is the condition of the glaze. If the condition of the glaze of a ceramic is not compromised, you should not have to worry about the makeup of that ceramic. However, if the ceramic in question has a compromised glaze (there is a crack, chip or blemish) you should take note of what that ceramic is made of. Unfortunately the only way to know what the ceramic is made of is to have it tested.
The ceramic found with lead did have a compromised glaze, and the owner decided not to use this item any more (it was given to me to use as an educational display piece). But in this kitchen I found something that I’ve never seen before. I found lead in a plastic ladle!
Black plastic ladle found with lead (750 PPM)
I’ve seen lead all over the place in the home and specifically the kitchen, but not in a serving utensil. I’ve found lead and other toxicants (cadmium and arsenic) in ceramics, pots and pans and even a cutting board. I’ve had conversations with toxicologists and elemental specialists from the FDA. Do you know that your coffee cup is regulated by the FDA (inside of the cup) and CPSC (outside of the cup)?
The amount of lead found in the ladle was approximately 750 PPM. This level is over twice the total content level for a children’s product (CPSIA), but this product is not regulated as a child’s product. I’m not suggesting that this ladle is even the source of this specific case of lead found in children’s blood, but lead was found in a product that is exposed to a variety of different heat conditions , as well as, the potential for acids (like tomato soup) and children are exposed to and this type of product.
As I said at the beginning, I am not here to scare anyone; I am here to provide insight and knowledge. I’m not saying that the ladle or cookware was the cause of lead in the children from this home, but lead was found in the kitchen and in consumer products that children are exposed to on a regular basis.
Do you know what is in your kitchen?
[...] continues in the kitchen; do you know what is in your kitchen cabinets? In my experience, the typical kitchen contains the most number of potentially harmful [...]
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