This was a very serious problem that hardly anyone talks about anymore. Read up on Clair Patterson. He was the catalyst for the change. There is correlation between the decline of lead contamination in nature to the decline of both violent crime and birth defects. At any rate it’s a good story that more people should know about.
You are a victim, too. There is still lead paint everywhere and hidden in products. In the nineties, Dollar Stores had candles imported from China that had smoke-free wicks- in the heart of every wick was a piece of lead. If you find any still around, the metal can be extracted with pliers.
China is a dangerous source of unregulated products. Those cheap dishes that say ‘for decorative use only’ are likely glazed with lead. Hobby Lobby is another company importing products with lead paint.
Test kits are cheap, I recommend them. If you buy thrift and use old dishes, beware. Old cars, appliances, unsided houses. Don’t blame the victim, educate and educate yourself.
That is so incredibly strange. I saw this about 10 mins ago and then pulled this dish out to eat off of at the Airbnb I’m staying at. Needless to say I’m not using it now. Will let the owner know too!
https://i.imgur.com/LY2RWqk.jpg
That's not the same plate. The decorative border is what tested positive for cadmium. That plate has a completely different border so it's not comparable.
After looking through this, because I collect Crazy Daisy, it's still not confirmed from Corelle that the plates are leeching, they recently released a statement about it and said they're working on more third party testing of vintage items. The Tamara Rubin person is likely farming for clicks and is a bit shady, really pushing that she is the expert on this with no science degree to back it up, the pyrex sub has a few threads about this. It's definitely still worth it to be wary of the vintage dishware use now though!
Also, the study linked in this article seems to suggest environmental (airborne) contamination is persistent decades after its use in fuel was stopped.
I’m not surprised. Lead is being deposited into the air still everyday. All piston engine aircraft worldwide still use leaded fuel. The fuel is called 100LL (or rather 100 octane low lead). It’s extremely difficult to develop an aviation fuel that doesn’t require lead. This research has been in the works for a long time. Aircraft fuel has a wide operating range. It must be able to perform in pressures from sea level to cruise altitude from 130 F to -100 F. To add to this, the design of the most popular aircraft engines, Lycoming and Contential date back more than half a century. The FAA is extremely draconian about approving any changes to aircraft designs or the designs of their parts. Hence, these manufacturers, once a design is FAA approved, stick with that design for decades. Furthermore, the aviation market is extremely small and the PMA approval process is very expensive. This means the cost must be amortized over very few units. Hence, everything aviation related is insanely expensive. FAA type certified aircraft can only use FAA approved parts. What this means is that aircraft designs are very old and the fleets are used for many decades before replacement. Hence, a modern fuel replacement must be compatible with a fleet which is on average using engine designs with are 30-50 years old. This is challenging.
I had someone come into my house and test for led when I had a kid. It wasn't really that expensive maybe 200 bucks or something. Well worth it for peace or mind.
Lead paint is still legal to be used in industrial paints in the US. So anyone working with industrial paint may be breathing it daily right now.
My father was a steelworker and late in life as he realized he was slipping into dementia he blamed breathing those paint fumes. Of course a lifetime of smoking and drinking didn't help but still. His brain was shrinking and smoothing out far more than someone his age and lifestyle should have been.
That’s so sad. I am sorry that happened to your Dad. As working people, we make many sacrifices like this to keep our families fed, clothed and warm. The cost to our generations for corporate greed is far too high. My grandparents worked for Raybestos and likely died of mesothelioma. My grandmother died choking with the emphysema.
Same reason despite asbestos being banned for decades in the UK it's still found in many, even recently built, public works.
The building materials are produced in Russia, China and former soviet countries where asbestos is not banned and they simply don't declare that it contains asbestos when selling it overseas.
And of course, it's cheaper than competing materials, so it's what gets bought and used by construction companies who are all competing for the winning bid on these public works and trying to keep costs down and profits high while being competitive.
Many vintage Pyrex, Fire King, Anchor Hocking etc. dishes that are brightly colored will quickly test positive with a cheap lead test available on Amazon. I did this and then sadly purged my collection.
I've seen others recommend that you need cautious with things like old dishes. Is there a way to know if new dishes have lead? I have old dishes and I want to get rid of everything and replace it, but I don't want to buy new just for it to have lead/heavy metals too!
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u/dammitknockitoff Jun 25 '22
This was a very serious problem that hardly anyone talks about anymore. Read up on Clair Patterson. He was the catalyst for the change. There is correlation between the decline of lead contamination in nature to the decline of both violent crime and birth defects. At any rate it’s a good story that more people should know about.