Lead Crystal Info

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ewh-semt/contaminants/lead-plomb/indoor_environments-milieux_interieurs_e.html#25

Leaded crystal

Leaded crystal is widely used for serving beverages. When the crystal comes in contact with beverages, especially acidic beverages such as port, wine, fruit juices and soft drinks, some lead dissolves into the liquid. The amount of lead that dissolves depends on the lead content of the crystal, the type of beverage and the length of time they are in contact with each other. Over the course of a meal, the amount of lead dissolved is very small (well below 200 parts per billion), but beverages stored in crystal decanters can accumulate very high levels of lead. Scientists have found lead concentrations of up to 20 parts per million (ppm) in wines kept for weeks in crystal containers. Under the Food and Drugs Act, the maximum allowable lead concentration in Canadian beverages is 200 parts per billion.

To avoid exposure to high lead levels, do not store any beverage in crystal decanters for extended periods of time. Decanters should only be used for serving. Some of the surface lead can be removed from new crystal by soaking it in vinegar for 24 hours and thoroughly rinsing it. Do not wash crystal in the dishwasher as harsh detergents can increase the release of lead. Do not serve pregnant women or children drinks in crystal glasses.

[Robin Garr]

Thanks, Rod! It's been my observation that few wine geeks are much concerned about lead crystal. Since <i>in the context of wine</i>, the beverage is relatively low in alcohol and isn't left in the decanter for extended periods, the level of exposure simply doesn't seem to be an issue.

I'd definitely be wary of using lead crystal to keep strong liquor on the bar for months, though, and certainly it's worth being aware of this issue.

Ravenscroft makes lead-free glasses. As my Reidels break, I am replacing them with those.

I don't think I would say it is not a concern. 20 ppm lead in a wine is an issue. Lead in wine is to be avoided. The acid content of wine accelerates the leaching of lead in decanters and glasses. The standard for lead in drinking water is .01 ppm. So if wine sitting in a decanter for 24 hours reached 10 ppm lead then it would be 1000 times over the legal lead level for drinking water.

Particularly for sick people physiological lead will reduce their ability to heal.

Here is info from the same Canadian health agency that I quoted from before.

"Where is lead stored in the body?

Regardless of the route of entry, lead is absorbed directly through the blood into tissue. Lead has no known biological function in the body. Once absorbed, it circulates in the bloodstream and either accumulates in tissues or is excreted as waste. Some of it is absorbed into soft tissue such as the liver, kidneys, pancreas and lungs. A very high proportion of absorbed lead is transferred to bone (hard tissue), where it accumulates over time and remains for long periods. The half-life (time for the body to excrete half the accumulated lead) is about 25 years. Therefore, high lead concentrations can stay in the body for many years after exposure to lead has stopped.

During periods of physiological stress (pregnancy or serious illness, for example), or when bone mass decreases with aging, the minerals stored in bones, including lead, go back into the bloodstream. An individual may therefore be at risk for release of stored lead into the bloodstream throughout a lifetime.

Are there noticeable and visible signs/symptoms of lead poisoning to look for?

What is lead "poisoning" compared to lead "exposure"?

Lead exposure refers to the entry of lead into the body, through ingestion, inhalation, the skin or the placenta. Lead poisoning occurs when there are adverse health effects due to lead in the body.

Is lead poisoning a common problem in Canada?

Very few cases of lead poisoning are documented in Canada each year. However, since low-level lead poisoning is often unrecognized, it is difficult to determine the number of Canadians affected by exposure to low levels of lead.

"Some of the more prominent symptoms of lead poisoning include headaches, irritability, abdominal pain, vomiting, anaemia (general weakness, paleness), weight loss, poor attention span, noticeable learning difficulty, slowed speech development and hyperactivity. However, at very low exposure levels, lead may not produce specific symptoms, but still can produce subtle adverse effects on children's development."

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There are so many great quality lead free crystal products like ravencroft that winelovers can simply switch.

[Robin Garr]

The standard for lead in drinking water is .01 ppm. So if wine sitting in a decanter for 24 hours reached 10 ppm lead then it would be 1000 times over the legal lead level for drinking water.

Well, yeah, but hold on a second there, podnuh.

From your original post, and the underlying link:

<i>Over the course of a meal, the amount of lead dissolved is very small (well below 200 parts per billion), but beverages stored in crystal decanters can accumulate very high levels of lead. Scientists have found lead concentrations of up to 20 parts per million (ppm) in wines kept for weeks in crystal containers. Under the Food and Drugs Act, the maximum allowable lead concentration in Canadian beverages is 200 parts per billion.</i>

That's 20ppm after "weeks" in crystal. Where did the 10ppm after 24 hours come from?

I agree that lead is a bad thing to bring into the body, but I don't think most wine enthusiasts even leave wine in the decanter for 24 hours, much less "weeks." Decant for service, drink the wine, or return the leftovers to the bottle for storage after dinner.

If you're concerned about this, you should be still more concerned to wipe off (wetting a cloth or paper napkin) any crystals found between a foil capsule and the cork, after a wine has been stored.

The small ullage past the cork brings wine, concentrated by evaporation, into contact with the capsule material. Though it is changing, traditionally capsules were made of soft heavy-metal alloys (including lead). If significant wine acids accumulate on the capsule's inner surface, they dissolve it and produce soluble salts like acetate and tartarate. (White in color, I recall.) Very easily assimilated by animals like us.

It may be worth reflecting that lead acetates from pewter wine cups are often cited as a health problem in ancient Rome and the common term "sugar of lead" (Mark, correct me) comes from the sweetness of lead acetate, allegedly a taste they liked in Rome. (Roger Price opined that the Rome story endures possibly because it was historically important, but especially because of the spectacular orgies evoked by mention of those pewter wine cups ...)

[Robin Garr]

If you're concerned about this, you should be still more concerned to wipe off (wetting a cloth or paper napkin) any crystals found between a foil capsule and the cork, after a wine has been stored.

Not a concern except possibly with long-cellared wines. Lead foil capsules have been off the market since the early 1990s.

Good point Robin and I guess I'm showing my age. It could also be phrased "Not a problem with recent wines." (Surely there are readers with wines from before the 1990s, they get mentioned here often enough.)

Actually it is a problem with any foil capsule, though different in detail and magnitude. In general humans don't benefit from ingesting metallic acetates or tartarates.

I won't go as far as Broadbent who, in his big book of tasting notes (1980), which begin with pre-phylloxera French wines [1860s], when he got to recent decades apologized for relatively little focus on "young" wines.

Isn't there a somewhat time consuming method to leach the lead out of crystal?
Up in New Hampshire several years ago, I happened upon a crystal producer named Simon Pierce who apparently uses another element in the manufacture of his decanters and his decanters are what I use for any storage short or long term.

Isn't there a somewhat time consuming method to leach the lead out of crystal?
Up in New Hampshire several years ago, I happened upon a crystal producer named Simon Pierce who apparently uses another element in the manufacture of his decanters and his decanters are what I use for any storage short or long term.

Lead "crystal" is simply glass in which lead has been used in vairous proportions to replace the silicon that is normally there. Plenty of other elements can do the same thing, although few can duplicate the sparkle of the glass produced by doping lead into it (hence the reason and the fanciful name) [aside: the decision to use lead in glass is still a remarkably shortsighted decision, given the fact that the health hazards of lead have been known since Roman times, but pales beside the decisions to use it in paint and as an anti-knock additive to gasoline] I have my doubts whether the lead could be removed by leaching without compromising the structure of the glass.

Borosilicate glass, in which boron has been used, is commonplace, and Schott-Zwiesel's Tritan glass uses titanium to replace silicon, with the result (remarkably!) of getting a stronger glass.

Mark Lipton

Thank you, Mark. Your post reminded me that it is indeed boron that Simon Pierce uses and to wonderful effect.

I have the Schott Zwiesel titanium glasses, and use them as much as possible (more for dishwasher/breakage reasons that lead). But I don't worry when I use my Riedel or Spiegelaus, nor re using a decanter. Wine doesn't leach lead that fast. Spirits stored in decanters are another story(stay out of those English drawing rooms and the backs of stretch limos and you should be safe).

Isn't there a somewhat time consuming method to leach the lead out of crystal?
Up in New Hampshire several years ago, I happened upon a crystal producer named Simon Pierce who apparently uses another element in the manufacture of his decanters and his decanters are what I use for any storage short or long term.

No, there's no way to prevent lead crystal glassware from leaching lead. Lead crystal is glass where, instead of being pure silicon dioxide (SiO2), 20% of the mixture is lead dioxide (PbO2). The 20% lead dioxide yields a glass that is more glittery and takes a higher polish. This is why it's popular for cut crystal decanters. But it means that the lead oxide, which is soluble in acidic solutions such as wine and spirits, will leach out over time and there's no way to prevent this from happening.

My own take is that drinking from lead crystal glassware, where the wine is in contact with the glass for minutes to hours, and decanting into a lead crystal serving vessel, where the wine is in contact for a day or so, is safe. But I'd stay away from things such as those fancy Courvosier XO cut crystal decanters full of Cognac, where the spirit is in contact with lead crystal for months or years.

-Paul W.

Is there a treatment or glaze that the manufacturers of crystal can coat the interior surface of the container with to inhibit the wine from eating away at the lead?

Salute

Is there a treatment or glaze that the manufacturers of crystal can coat the interior surface of the container with to inhibit the wine from eating away at the lead?

Salute

Well, vapor deposition of platinum or gold on the interior surface would do a good job, and also look pretty cool though it would preclude actually seeing the wine that you're drinking. The problem is that lead "crystal" is used for reasons of visual appeal, so any modification to it would have to be invisible. One temporary solution is to silanize the surface of the glass, which a product called Rain-X does to auto windshields. The problem is that it doesn't last long and is unstable to the acids in wine (its use in foods is also suspect). So, basically, the answer (alas) is no.

Mark Lipton

Thanks Mark.

Salute