Field Notes

what public disclosure does, and where trace detection goes next
what public disclosure does, and where trace detection goes next
A public technical disclosure is prior art. Also — here's where the trace-detection work on MABr-based lead testing should go next. Read more...
where the lead test kit market actually stands
where the lead test kit market actually stands
The Amazon home-lead-testing market in early 2026 is largely mislabeled or undisclosed. The TSCA window is closing. Read more...
why Fluoro-Spec costs less than similar tests
why Fluoro-Spec costs less than similar tests
Three reasons Fluoro-Spec is priced below comparable MABr tests, plus the prior-art status of the chemistry. Read more...
why are children still the lead test
why are children still the lead test
There is no safe level of lead. So why are children the primary detection method? Because a better tool was only legal to sell five weeks ago. Read more...
awareness is the prevention
awareness is the prevention
We avoid knives and bumpers because we can see them. Lead is invisible. That is the entire prevention problem. Read more...
approximately 0 cameroonians had our 1978 ban
approximately 0 cameroonians had our 1978 ban
PPG was still selling leaded house paint in Cameroon in 2012. Banned at home. Shipped abroad. Series closer. Read more...
approximately 0 adults over 40 have zero lead in them
approximately 0 adults over 40 have zero lead in them
On a Saturday in 2013 a senior lead researcher posted his own blood-lead level. Two more replied within hours. The researchers had it in them too. Read more...
approximately 0 FDA rules were broken
approximately 0 FDA rules were broken
A spice jar tested at 1.34 ppm lead. The FDA action level was 5 ppm. The kid still got poisoned. Dose vs concentration. Read more...
approximately 0 people thought the fix would make it worse
approximately 0 people thought the fix would make it worse
Partial lead-pipe replacement made exposure worse, not better. A local advocate forced the city to pause. Read more...
approximately 0 people reading the rebuild plan saw the lead
approximately 0 people reading the rebuild plan saw the lead
A Portland elementary school rebuild after a fire quietly included salvaging lead-painted materials into the new building. Read more...
approximately 0% of the education coverage mentioned paint
approximately 0% of the education coverage mentioned paint
A Rhode Island high school was called failing. The teachers got fired. The sophomores had been toddlers in a lead-paint-saturated mill town in 1994. Read more...
approximately 0 chicagoans had a choice about their water pipes
approximately 0 chicagoans had a choice about their water pipes
Chicago required new construction to install lead water service pipes by city code until 1986. Not permitted. Required. Read more...