Is Cheap XRF Equipment Worth the Cost of Cheap Unsafe Toxic Jewelry?

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Is Cheap XRF Equipment Worth the Cost of Cheap Unsafe Toxic Jewelry?

Going against the safety guidelines of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) could cause inaccurate test reports and unsafe Cheap Jewelry Websites to be sold in California.

Children, primarily in low income communities, could suffer from serious health problems from lead and cadmium in "cheap" jewelry due to SB647 (Mitchell). The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is requesting the purchase of XRF units to enforce SB647, an amendment to the Metal Containing Jewelry Law. Electroplating makes "cheap" jewelry look expensive and by relying only on XRF, inaccurate results could cause toxic jewelry to be sold. According to the CPSC and ASTM, XRF is "…not suitable for testing electroplated metal alloys."
A CPSC certified lab said, "The CPSC does not accept this type of testing (for electroplated metal jewelry). However, XRF can be done for a screening which is used for Informational Purposes only."

The CPSC states "XRF detectors have limited depth of penetration so, for certain applications such as children's metal jewelry, it is possible for the surface coating to mask the presence of potentially hazardous leaded base metal underneath."

According to a CPSC certified lab, "XRF has technical limitation for some typical metal base, lab always using wet chemical method (ICP machine) to get final results."

To avoid false test reports and obtain accurate results, the DTSC must follow all the guidelines of the CPSC and obtain ICP machines to ensure accurate results as recommended by the CPSC. If only XRF testing was relied upon in this recent test shown below, Necklace A would have been allowed to be sold, endangering lives and Necklace B would have caused a false allegation.

In addition, SB647 goes against the CPSC safety guidelines and includes outdated EPA methods 3050b, 3051a and 3052 (Section 25214.4(a)), designed to test for soil and NOT jewelry, which cannot guarantee accurate results, and could cause unsafe products to be sold. In 2006, a 4 year old boy with microcephaly died after swallowing jewelry tested using EPA 3050 and the CDC noted huge variations in testing jewelry when this EPA method was used. EPA test methods must be removed from SB647 to protect the children.