Lead exposure

[Gabby]

I was recently reading about those Stanley cups that, turns out, have pucks of lead embedded within the structure of the cup. It is allegedly safe because you only are exposed to the lead if the cup is damaged or punctured, but like, for me that is too close to comfort. Plus, I think the cups looked stupid anyway, so I am glad I didn't get one. But it got me to thinking: lead used to be super common, and still is somewhat like in old houses and such. I don't think I've been exposed to a significant amount of lead, but I guess you never truly know. The effects of it are pretty gnarly, so I hope not!

What about you? Ever lived in an old, lead-filled house? Are you concerned about lead exposure?

 

[Halloqueen]

I just have to say that every time I see people or articles mentioning these cups made by a company called Stanley, my brain still automatically goes to the Stanley Cup from the National Hockey League (NHL). Then I'm reminded these cups exist.

I was recently reading about those Stanley cups that, turns out, have pucks of lead embedded within the structure of the cup.

Pucks. Like hockey pucks. Why is the universe doing this to me?

Anyway, to the topic at hand, it's of no personal concern to me since I'm not interested in getting one of these cups. That said, it would be great if they could find an alternative material to use if at all possible.

What about you? Ever lived in an old, lead-filled house? Are you concerned about lead exposure?

As far as I know, I haven't been exposed and I hope it remains that way.

 

[BetsySundrop]

Yep! I've been exposed to a ton of lead. But, I'm not really all that concerned about it.

Lead paint was everywhere when I was a kid. I don't think gas was unleaded yet when I was a kid, and in those old cars, you breathed gasoline when you rode in them. We had lead in toys! And every child chewed on toys at some point...

Later lead exposure was in an older house - we stripped/sanded the old paint and repainted it. It turned out to be lead paint. Also, in the army, I spent plenty of time at firing ranges. Fun, but the lead dust...

The reason I'm not concerned - welp, too late to do anything about it now!

I did see an interesting article on certain phone companies possibly being responsible for cleaning up all the lead cables they buried throughout the states. That's an interesting story to follow.

 

[Reginald Fairfield]

I picked cheap ceramic plate at a grocery store, on the bottom it has a sticker that says the product may have lead, or cause cancer.

It just has a word printed on it. There was that McDonalds Shrek cup recall years ago. Due to the red dye used on the Puss in Boots cup.

 

[Midoriya]

No, I'm not really in any danger of being exposed to lead, thankfully.

 

[Doo]

I’m pretty sure we have lead water pipes, I’m not sure how bad that is but we use a water filter now

 

[S.J.]

Some of my previous lab work involved using radionuclides, so lead sheets were used as shields from gamma radiation. The radionuclides and waste were also stored in boxes lined with lead. I wore gloves and general PPE, so with that being said, I'm not too concerned about lead exposure!

I think the more concerning sources of lead exposure are where there's a strong potential for inhalation, ingestion or skin absorption - things like lead-based paints, contaminated air/water/soil, and lead-contaminated dust in old buildings. Thankfully, even in older homes, lead water pipes are very uncommon in Australia.

 

[Paperboy012305]

No way have I ever gotten any lead inside of me. I do have walls that has lead on them, but they've been painted over so many times it basically overlaps the lead, so I'm protected from it.

 

[VernalLapin]

I think there’s lead paint on the basement window, and I think there was some in the pipes but that was resolved. Ahh, the joys of living in an old house.

 

[CometCatcher]

Not actual lead, but pencil lead—I have some permanently stuck in my arm. It was pretty noticeable for a while, but now I don't think I can find it or see it as easily. A special gift from one of my best friends. (She accidentally stabbed me with her mechanical pencil when I cracked the worst joke ever and I still constantly bring it up to her. It's so funny LOL)

 

[Zinnia.]

I don't think I've been exposed to any lead before, but I used to live in a neighborhood where most of the houses had badly weathered asbestos siding. I wasn't there for long so I'm probably fine, but it's still scary stuff.

 

[nightglow]

I grew up in a house with lead paint.
But speaking of lead in the Stanley cups, I believe that is something more common than you might think. Not just metal but ceramics and terracotta stuff too.

 

[Gabby]

I grew up in a house with lead paint.
But speaking of lead in the Stanley cups, I believe that is something more common than you might think. Not just metal but ceramics and terracotta stuff too.

What. You gotta be kiddin' me

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

Entirely possible I may have accidentally exposed myself to lead via oil paint.. there were times where paint would somehow end up on my face or whatever. Haven't used oil paint in a long time, though

 

[nightglow]

What. You gotta be kiddin' me

Yeah. You can Google about it if you'd like. It has to do with various things like what country a dish came from, how old the kiln is, how a dish was manufactured if lead was used, or if lead was used to enhance the appearance of paint color or gloss appearance and if course older dishes. Bowls, plates, cups, crock pots, pitchers, flower pots ect.
But when it comes to metal stuff, lead is a cheap material that as long as there is a coating on it, manufacturers can get away with the approval of food/drink safe. Problem is coatings wear over time, and some drinks are more acidic than others.
I don't keep tract of it because I feel like in my country there is a bazillion things that are that should not be, but yeah it's a thing. The FDA has some stuff written about it from 2010.

 

[ali.di.magix]

I don't think I have been exposed to lead as most houses I've lived in have been new-ish, or wallpaper walls with hopefully a relatively new coat of paint. When I was working in drinking water reticulation, we did find a couple old lead pipes. Thankfully they were redundant!

 

[Drawdler]

I think Stanley cups aren’t really a thing here. I can’t imagine using them.

Apparently lipstick has lead in it, and I don’t care if it’s a “safe” amount, for makeup I wouldn’t want to expose myself to lead.

I think some kalsomine paint has lead in it, and I had to very cautiously remove it, but upon double-checking I can’t confirm that.