Lead crystal glassware

[Megawatt]

After doing some research, it seems to me that drinking from crystal glassware is not such a good idea, yet it also seems that most fine glasses for spirits and wines are made of crystal these days. Just wondering what the forum opinion is on this topic; do you use crystal glassware regularly?

[Thesh]

There's no problem with drinking out of it. There is concern about storing liquid in lead crystal glasses for long period of times.

[mozilla]

After doing some research, it seems to me that drinking from crystal glassware is not such a good idea, yet it also seems that most fine glasses for spirits and wines are made of crystal these days. Just wondering what the forum opinion is on this topic; do you use crystal glassware regularly?

Was there a % that is indicated as a threshold that should be avoided? Or- is it any amount of lead within the glass?

[jburlowski]

There are also crystal glasses and barware made without lead.

[CorvallisCracker]

There are also crystal glasses and barware made without lead.

Made with titanium, I believe. Makes the glass a lot harder. They're billed as "break resistant".

[gothbat]

It used to be my understanding that the liquor had to sit in the decanter for a very long time (20 - 30 years) before it would cause enough lead to be released to be harmful but every time this topic comes up I do another search and find something different. A lot of what I read today seems to imply that the time it takes to cause enough lead to be released is much shorter. You can find some decent (by that I mean presumably reliable) info here. According to that site there significantly less than 0.2ppm of lead absorbed in a drink in one of those glasses whether it be an alcoholic drink or a non-alcoholic one, the legal maximum for lead content in in food and beverages in Canada is 0.2ppm. Among the things they suggest if you are going to use lead crystal glasses and/or decanters is to let it soak in vinegar overnight, wash them by hand (this suggestion and the former will reduce the amount of surface lead in the glass), and to maintain a healthy diet (so that your body doesn't absorb as much lead). I don't let any of this ruin using my favorite, lead crystal, snifter though.

[SippinJim]

Why do they add lead anyway?

[CorvallisCracker]

Why do they add lead anyway?

Makes it harder, which allows it to be thinner, and also able to cut designs into it (the good crystal, from outfits like Waterford, have their intricate designs cut, not molded, into the glasses and decanters).

[Gillman]

We have a lead glassware decanter. A few years ago I put one of my typical U.S./Canadian whiskey blends in it.

I tasted it a few weeks ago. It has a strange, metallic taste, and I won't touch it further.

My blends may be (some of them) bad, but not that bad...

Gary

[scratchline]

If you are allowing your alcoholic beverage to sit undrunk in a crystal glass long enough for harmful amounts of lead to leach out, you ain't doing it the right way.

-Mike

[Megawatt]

Apparently wine and wine-related beverages only need to be in the lead crystal container for a matter of hours before they start to absorb lead. My research suggests that one should not use such glassware on a daily basis. Lead poisoning has been linked to gout, and gout sounds rather unpleasant...

[ILLfarmboy]

This subject comes up from time to time and while I'll admit that I don't use/store spirits in crystal decanters primarily because of the possible health risks, being worried about drinking from crystal glassware seems overkill. I would hazard a guess and say any number of activities from recreational shooting to using lead solder will expose you to grater amounts of lead.