Does the lead in lead crystal glasses leach into wine?
I just had a lecture on lead poisoning that included unpublished data on this very topic. The bottom line is that yes, this occurs, and the reaction is first order, time dependent, and very, very slow. It took weeks for detectable levels of lead to leach into the booze. On the other hand, a teetotaler doc volunteered a few lead decanters of the Scotch he kept around for company, all filled when he moved into his apartment 20 years prior. These established that the reaction continued over time in a zero-order way; some of these whiskys had 20 mg/mL of lead in them, which is a really horrific amount. The consensus was that lead crystal was OK for serving, but you ought not store anything in it.
Wow, so those dumb California Prop 65 warnings for lead crystal actually do have some vague purpose.
We’re not convinced that lead can cause a ‘lead encephalopathy’ (cognitive impairment) in adults. In children it certainly does, with no lower limit on the amount of lead that’s been proven harmful. The data in adults is not so clear. But in adults it can cause bone marrow damage (anemia) and peripheral neuropathy, which are certainly compelling enough reasons to avoid it.
