For those concerned about the safety of their dinnerware, the California attorney general’s office and the Environmental Defense Fund, a national non-profit organization, have developed a list of several hundred patterns in 37 brands of china made by 21 companies, all of which meet California’s stringent standards for lead.
The list is available by sending a self-adressed envelope with 52 cents’ postage to the Office of the the Attorney General, Press Office, 1515 K St., Sacramento, Calif. 95814, or to the Environmental Defense Fund, Suite 304, 5655 College Ave., Oakland, Calif. 94618.
A couple of lead home-testing kits also are available. Hybrivet Systems, a Framingham, Mass., company, makes Leadcheck, a kit of capsules tipped with fabric swabs. After squeezing a capsule to release test chemicals, you wipe the swab on the suspect piece. If the swab turns pink, the item is leaching lead.
Leadcheck, which comes in kits with eight swabs ($20) or 16 swabs ($38), is available at Adesso in Highland Park. Also, many Ace, True Value, Handy Andy and Courtesy Home Center stores carry the kits, according to Dr. Marcia Stone, Hybrivet president, who has learned some favorite ceramic pieces can be unsuspected sources of lead.
“We had some lovely Italian bowls that we always used for chili, of all things, a good acidic food,” Stone says. “The bowls turned so pink that the pink soaked into them. I wonder how many IQ points we lost by eating out of them.”
Pace Environs, a Canadian company, makes the Frandon Lead Alert Kit. After rubbing a ceramic piece with sandpaper, the tester rubs the surface with a cotton swab, which is then dipped into a solution. If the solution changes color, the glaze contains lead.
The kit is available by mail from Pace Environs, 81 Finchdene Square, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada M1X 1B4, or by calling the company’s toll-free number, 800-359-9000. A kit with 40 tests costs $19.95; a kit with 100 tests is $29.95. Add $3.50 for shipping and handling.
If a piece tests positive, use it for decoration or to hold wrapped items, such as candy.
