Is it correct to assume that all old metal contains a significant amount of lead?
This is a bit of a screed, but I bought an old tunic (pic related - late 1940s) and I thought of buying a lead swab test kit to make sure the buttons aren't made from lead or a lead alloy, but the only problem is that lead test kits can supposedly identify lead in paint as low as 600 ppm (don't know how this translates to accuracy when tested on metals, just that the swabs are advertised for this purpose also). This seems like very little lead, and I don't want to gaslight myself over nothing. For instance, here is a quote from a US gov website:
>The EPA's standard for lead in bare soil in play areas is 400 ppm by weight and 1200 ppm for non-play areas
It's common for soil in cities to be 200ppm. Coal ash contains a lot of lead. I'm not concerned about lead impurities/contamination, I'm concerned about pure lead or lead alloys being the material used.
Any advice or opinions? Is the worry surrounding lead overemphasized or underemphasized?
This is a bit of a screed, but I bought an old tunic (pic related - late 1940s) and I thought of buying a lead swab test kit to make sure the buttons aren't made from lead or a lead alloy, but the only problem is that lead test kits can supposedly identify lead in paint as low as 600 ppm (don't know how this translates to accuracy when tested on metals, just that the swabs are advertised for this purpose also). This seems like very little lead, and I don't want to gaslight myself over nothing. For instance, here is a quote from a US gov website:
>The EPA's standard for lead in bare soil in play areas is 400 ppm by weight and 1200 ppm for non-play areas
It's common for soil in cities to be 200ppm. Coal ash contains a lot of lead. I'm not concerned about lead impurities/contamination, I'm concerned about pure lead or lead alloys being the material used.
Any advice or opinions? Is the worry surrounding lead overemphasized or underemphasized?
