Don't have a Fluoro-Spec? Let me check your dish.

I've scanned thousands of dishes with my XRF guns over the last couple years. Thrift store aisles, new stuff at Target, vintage plates in my mom's china cabinet. 2,165 in the database so far, with tile scans coming next.

If it doesn't glow, not so dangerous. If it glows, that's dangerous. Fluorescence spectroscopy is very powerful, there's a whole page on why I made Fluoro-Spec if you want the longer story.

For right now though, just search what's in front of you. Three free looks, then I'll ask for an email or fifteen bucks if you need more.

Thrift store dishes are the highest-yield lead vector I have found.

I have drip-tested thousands of secondhand dishes over the last five years. Glazed ceramic from before 1985 lights up green under UV at a rate that surprises most people. Vintage Pyrex with painted decals, hand-painted Italian and Mexican folk pottery, decorative dinner plates, the patterned bowls people collect at flea markets, all of these test positive at meaningful rates. The price tag has nothing to do with safety. Some of the most expensive antique-store finds glow brightest. The rule I follow, every used dish I bring home gets the drip before it touches food.

New does not mean safe.

Federal action levels for lead in dishware exist, but enforcement is sparse and import inspection is rare. Imported brands self-certify. Big-box closeouts and TJ Maxx style channels often skip meaningful testing. Painted decoration on the eating surface is the highest-risk pattern, and that pattern shows up in items sold this year. When I drip-tested a sample of recent imported ceramic mugs from a major retailer, a few of them glowed. Test the actual dish in your hand.