Hello Ofer,

Below are the comments from the report relative to your question. Most
ceramic mugs seem to be coming in from China these days. I was warmed about tea pots
when I was last in China but assume that some testing and certifications are
required for shipment into the US.

FWIW You can, on rare occasion, still find some orange colored ceramic plates
from the 30s that used uranium to get the color.

Talk about nuking your food... ;-)

Best regards,
Joe

BTW No mention of electronics as a concern in the report

Identification and Assessment of Lead: Lead is used in ceramics for
color and for glazing. Lead cannot be detected in a piece by its color,
texture or country of origin. Most ceramics currently made in the US meet
federal requirements. The highest levels of lead leached were from lowfired
terra cotta from Latin America in tests carried out by the California
Department of Health. The only way to know with certainty if a piece of
ceramics has lead in it is to have it tested. The procedure for testing
ceramics an d pottery consists of putting acetic acid (a dilute form of acetic
acid is vinegar) in the piece, allowing it to sit for a period of time, and
analyzing the acid to see how much lead dissolved into the acid from the
piece. Many laboratories can perform this test. At least one major ceramic
company will test a piece of its china for free, at a customer's request.
Leaded crystal can have very high amounts of lead, as can antique pewter.
Contact the FDA, Center for Food Safety at (202) 205-4317 or their consumer
affairs office (301) 443-3170..

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Elsewhere in the report...

Identification and Assessment of Lead: Vehicle exhaust is
considered the biggest source of lead in air which over the years has meant
widespread contamination of dust and soil. Although most cars now run
on unleaded gasoline, leaded gasoline may still be used in farm vehicles,
thus the contamination of agricultural soil may continue.
Airborne lead from gasoline is generally considered a minor source of
lead exposure today, except if it is from a point source. For example,
exposure can occur from pump ing leaded gasoline or from breathing in
leaded gasoline fumes.

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