Taken from KeelyNet BBS (214) 324-3501
                       Sponsored by Vangard Sciences
                                PO BOX 1031
                            Mesquite, Tx. 75150

                      TEST YOUR CERAMICWARE FOR LEAD

         Lead can  leach form ceramicware and be ingested with food or
    drink prepared or   served  in  it.    Children   are   especially
    susceptible and pregnant women are at high risk.

         A child  may  absorb  as  much  as  50 percent  of  the  lead
    introduced into the  gastrointestinal tract.  Adults can absorb up
    to 10 percent.

         Symptoms of  lead  poisoning   often   mask  those  of  other
    illnesses.  They include  headache, abdominal pain,  irritability,
    weakness, discomfort and  paleness.  With increasing exposure, the
    brain swells and often hemorrhages, which can induce convulsion or
    coma.

         Foreign-made ceramicware is  especially  suspect.   Makers of
    ceramicware use lead  to  create bright surface  colors.   If  the
    application is done  incorrectly  it  is  not impermeable and will
    leach out into food or drink. Liquid  acidic  foods  are  the ones
    most likely to case the leaching.   These include tomatoes, orange
    or apple juice, wine, coffee, and foods containing vinegar.

         You can  convert  any  suspect  ceramicware   into   strictly
    decorative pieces, have  your  ceramicware  tested commercially or
    purchase a kit to test it yourself.   One source of such a kit is:
    Frandon Enterprises Inc., Box 300312, Seattle 98103.
    (206) 633-2341.   To test a ceramic piece with a kit:

         * Pour household vinegar into each piece of  ceramicware  and
    let it stand for 24 hours.

         * Pour  the  liquid  that  has  been  standing into a plastic
    container and add a drop or two  of  the  test solution that comes
    with the kit.

         If lead has leached from your test piece, the  solution  will
    turn anywhere from  yellow to dark brown or black.  The darker the
    solution the higher the lead content.

                                   Submitted by; Ronald Barker
                                                 Vangard Sciences