amy parker on tue 24 oct 00
I've been out of town for four days, and I came home to hundreds of clayart
posts, mostly about haggis, and I find an e-mail from a non-potter friend
with a long list of Jewish foods with a cross reference to haggis! (WG)
Must be something in the air?
But on the lead crystal leaching thread - there was an article in (as I
recall) Science News several years ago about leaching of lead from lead
crystal. A group of scientists was addressing lead issues, and they
speculated over lunch that lead crystal might leach. They came back to work
the next day with every lead crystal decanter that they could obtain at
home and from friends and family, and tested the alcoholic contents for
lead, and sure enough, every sample was full of lead - the older the
contents, and the stronger the alcohol, the greater the lead amount.
Their conclusion was that you should only use these decanters for serving
the alcohol, and not for storage. Their tests showed that there was almost
no leaching of lead over an hour or two, but over time, it became quite
dangerous. So, I would presume that drinking wine out of a lead crystal
glass would be quite safe, as long as you did not sip the contents over a
week's time.
This was "big news" at the time - made it onto TV news, even, but seems to
have been forgotten.
At 01:42 PM 10/22/00 -0600, you wrote:
>Gayle,
>
>Yes, leaded glass leaches. It's worse than leaded pottery glazes, and harder
>to curb. Yet no one seems worried about it. I spoke with Monona about this
>some time ago, and she said there were likely to be some standards on the
>way, but it was more difficult for glass manufacturers to get the lead
>leaching levels down that it is for pottery manufacturers.
>
>They need that lead to get the crystal bright, and to give it that beautiful
>ringing sound. It seems a bit hypocritical to me, that everyone and their
>uncle is worried about lead in pottery glazes (in high-fire glazes, no less,
>which never had need of lead), and yet you can find articles in high-class
>publications about how to shop for lead crystal in the Czech republic
>suitable for all manner of alcoholic beverages, and nary a warning in sight.
>
>So, I drink my wine from glass goblets, though I have some very nice Czech
>crystal. That is for water--occasionally. We do have the ability to rid our
>bodies of small amounts of lead, but that doesn't mean we should put it to
>the test. They're certainly not suitable for alcohol, in my opinion.
>
>Cindy Strnad
>Earthen Vessels Pottery
>RR 1, Box 51
>Custer, SD 57730
>USA
>earthenv@gwtc.net
>http://www.earthenvesselssd.com
>
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>
Amy Parker
Lithonia, GA
Janet Kaiser on wed 25 oct 00
"They" recently exhumed Beethoven and removed
some hair or finger nails or something... Seems
the poor man suffered from extremely high levels
of lead. That poisoning could well have been
the cause of his psychological state, not the
deafness.
"As mad as a hatter" refers to the occupational
illness which afflicted people who worked in
that profession... They inhaled the nasties
whilst steaming the hats...
Regensburg, Germany: Many of the old houses are
apparently so badly polluted by the lead and
mercury which was used to make mirrors for
centuries, they should really all be pulled down
and designated as toxic waste.
And of course the Romans had lead pipes... Must
have been the reason for an orderly, civilised
and extended military power being wiped out so
easily by a few nomads...
So watch out!
There is, however, no lead in Haggis. Honestly
:-)
Janet - love the trivia - Kaiser
The Chapel of Art . Capel Celfyddyd
HOME OF THE INTERNATIONAL POTTERS' PATH
Criccieth LL52 0EA, GB-Wales Tel: (01766) 523570
E-mail: postbox@the-coa.org.uk
WEBSITE: http://www.the-coa.org.uk
----- Original Message -----
> I've been out of town for four days, and I
came home to hundreds of clayart
> posts, mostly about haggis, and I find an
e-mail from a non-potter friend
> with a long list of Jewish foods with a cross
reference to haggis! (WG)
> Must be something in the air?
Steve Mills on thu 26 oct 00
In message , Janet Kaiser
writes
>
>There is, however, no lead in Haggis. Honestly
>:-)
Are you sure Dear, it feels like it when I eat it, and lands in my
stomach like lead!
--
Steve Mills
Bath
UK
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