The tests also showed that 10 per cent of the Chinese-made products bought outside of Chinatown also had lead in their glaze. Some of those were purchased at major national chains.
Now, the team, along with the Food and Drug Administration, has begun tests to find out if any of that lead is getting into users.
The team, led by two emergency room doctors at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, tested 87 spoons, bowls, plates, mugs and other items bought from stores in Chinatown last summer.
Dr. Gerald O'Malley says researchers using LeadCheck swab tests found that 22 of the items tested positive for some level of lead, but that more tests are needed to know how high those levels were. The team also tested 49 items purchased from places outside of Chinatown, and five of them showed some level of lead.
"I was very surprised, very concerned at the degree. And the percentage that tested positive was very disturbing," said Dr. O'Malley.
Dr. O'Malley, a toxicologist, said he began the investigation on a hunch. While working in the emergency department at a hospital in Denver, Colorado, he had seen many children with high lead levels he suspected were from Mexican-made pottery. However, he never had the chance to test the cookware in question.
The team is conducting leaching tests to find out whether the lead levels were dangerous; the results could be back later this month.
