Lead in Old Pyrex Bowls

Lead in Pyrex Bowls - Do you own Pyrex bowls like this? The colored glaze you see might be contaminated with lead.

Lead in Old Pyrex Bowls

Do you have any old kitchen bowls like you see in the photo above? I grew up with bowls just like it.

In fact, each night for two years in the early 1970s I ate a pint of plain Skyline chili with onions and cheese in a red Prex bowl just like the one in the photo above.

Did you know these bowls might be contaminated with lead? Watch the video below.

Did you know there's NO SAFE exposure level to lead - especially with children? READ MY PAST COLUMN about Lead Poisoning.

Can I Use A Lead Test Kit to See if My Bowls Have Lead Glazing?

You can do whatever you want, but the Lead Test kits you find in stores are meant to test PAINT, not ceramic glaze.

To do a PROPER TEST, you need a hand-held XRF scanner that tests for lead and other heavy metals.

Watch this video. Then you DECIDE if your old Pyrex bowls are safe to use:

Lead in Bowl Glaze

Look at the chips and missing colored glaze on the outside of this bowl. How much of that might have transferred to my hands as I used the bowl?

The blue paint or glaze probably contains lead. All those chips and scratches mean lead could have been on your hands, in your food, or in your dishwater. Scary.

You can read another article about lead in Pyrex bowls here.

Lead in Newsletter Subscriber's Bowls

Carl is a subscriber and he sent me a story about lead in coffee mugs. After doing additional testing, Carl and his wife sent me this photo. Read what he says below it.

These Pyrex bowls belong to Carl and Patricia.

Tim,

The article on lead poisoning was very enlightening, Especially the video with Lead Safe Mama. We didn't realize these bowls from Pat's parents were a lead problem. We tested them and sure enough, even an older set of Correl bowls tested bad.

Thank you,

Carl and Patricia