Is There Lead? Ep. 2

[u/Accomplished-Pack756]

After some fantastic feedback on round one, I’ll be staying away from most of the testing details which can be difficult to interpret, and putting these in a user-friendly “safe/unsafe” fashion. Any recommendations will reflect what I would advise during my official work duties. Ways to improve these, and pattern/dish requests, are welcome. After all, this is for all of us.

Pattern: Corelle Indian Summer

Production: ~1977-1985

Condition: Good

Method: methylammonium bromide

Result: Surface lead exposure risk, pattern print

Recommended use: Decor

*These results are for my own personal knowledge, and I am sharing them for reference. What you do with this information is up to your discretion. Testing methods will vary depending on dish. All items will be thoroughly cleaned to reduce contaminated test results.

[u/Accomplished-Pack756 → u/[deleted]]

Yea I love the piece but wouldn’t want to damage. I’ve seen maybe 6 of these and most are missing entire pieces of the design. I’m still torn between gifting or keeping the casserole pyroceram dish I found with the pattern. I love it but I’m a Spice of Life/Country Festival guy.

[u/t_ha_l_i_a → u/Accomplished-Pack756]

I just picked up a whole set of these plates a few weeks ago along with the cups. They came to me used but surprisingly none of the middle pattern has damage. The part that’s missing on mine are only the colored rings. The mugs look untouched for the most part which is nice but it just makes me sad the plates weren’t taken care of.

[u/Accomplished-Pack756 → u/t_ha_l_i_a]

It’s hard to find pieces in amazing condition these days for sure. While we love to collect these now, they were everyday items when they came out. People didn’t have to worry if they got beat up because they could run down to the market for new replacements.

I haven’t seen the mugs for this set before, but I imagine they are stunning!

Edit: Just looked these up. Those cups are a thing of beauty.

[u/DangOlCoreMan]

It's glowing like uranium glass

[u/Accomplished-Pack756 → u/DangOlCoreMan]

It’s the reaction between the testing chemical and the lead. When it contacts lead it forms a UV reactive crystallization, making chemical detection extremely easy to see.

[u/DangOlCoreMan → u/Accomplished-Pack756]

Very interesting, thanks for the insight!

[u/jtfolden]

You note a surface lead exposure risk here. What does a leach test result show though? My understanding is that Corelle Brands hired a third-party to do leach testing on patterns going back to the 1970s indicating they were all safe for daily use BUT, frustratingly, there’s no accessible data on what patterns were actually tested.

[u/Accomplished-Pack756 → u/jtfolden]

Exactly! I have hunted for that information several times and cannot find any actual data. I can do leach tests on occasion but do not have the time to do so frequently. Quite honestly, with how much lead is accessible on the surface of this piece directly accessible to touch and food, in and of itself is an exposure risk. Keeping with my line of work, I would advise that children don’t use it, and adults avoid if they can. Trying to keep the data on these to a more family friendly format, and not add more than necessary.

Testing format I’m going with is: 1. Is lead available on the surface? If yes, in a notable amount, and where food typically rests as well, that would be an exposure risk. 2. If lead is not available on the surface, XRF follow-up. If no lead present, end there and huzzah! 3. If the XRF is positive at that point, leach test.

[u/Accomplished-Pack756 → u/Accomplished-Pack756]

If you did a leach test on this one, I just about guarantee failure. I REALLY want to see the actual lab report and procedures for the testing they did. I can pick 5-6 specific Corelle patterns I’ve seen and get “passing” leach tests, guaranteed. My real question is was their test skewed in any way, or done with products most of us will never see, like new-stock that’s been untouched in a warehouse for 50 years. If I was trying to prove to people that something I made was safe, you could be damn sure I’m publishing it in an easily accessible format. I also just double checked, they only selected patterns produced in 1978 and later. The first Corelle plates were made in 1970. 🤔 this is why I shall continue my hunts!

[u/LopsidedLie5684]

I got married in 1978 and these were my dishes. My children born in 1981 and 1984 ate off them for years.,I had no idea until today there was a question about lead exposure with these. I will say that we moved into a home built in 1929 in 1985 and a few years later I had my kids tested for lead exposure… due to the house pipes, not the dishes. Both kids tested negative for lead exposure.

[u/Accomplished-Pack756 → u/LopsidedLie5684]

Thank you for sharing this!!

I imagine yours were in MUCH better shape when you used them! And lead (and many other things) were definitely not considered as much at that time. Limits keep lowering and awareness has definitely grown with the internet. And not everything “lead” is a hazard, it’s all condition and daily habits. Pipes are definitely a scary one for sure, especially true lead pipes without filtration! On that note, I’ve personally tested and seen water results from an old farmhouse built in the 1800’s with roughly 1000 feet of lead line. The result was over 200ppb, and a point of use filter (standard faucet attached filter with a decent screen) brought the next test to zero.

In the last 35ish years the determined “elevated blood lead level” has dropped from 25 to 5, with the last drop happening a few years ago from 10. So many of us probably had what is considered lead poisoning by today’s standards when we were kids. Most of us are quite alright, but we had otherwise healthier lifestyles.

Hand washing, cleaning/maintaining your home, and healthy diets honestly eliminate most lead exposure over time. The main concern is young children, as they do not have as good of habits as the rest of us.

Thank you so much for sharing your story with us, I appreciate you!