My friend is registering for her wedding and is hesitant to add crystal to her list as most “fine” crystal (i.e. Waterford) is referred to as Lead Crystal and she has been told that lead in anything is dangerous. What’s the straight dope on that info? Should I be worried about the many years I have drunl wine from lead crystal goblets? Let me know . . .
How long the alcoholic beverage sits in lead crystal determines how much lead it absorbs. IIRC, 24-48 hours is fine, but you really shouldn’t leave drinks in lead crystal for more than a few days. Also, port absorbs lead at something like 200 times the rate of other wines. So I use a glass decanter for port.
-K
As KXL said, as long as you don’t store beverages in lead crystal for long periods, there’s not really a problem.
Here’s a link with some info:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ehp/ehd/catalogue/general/iyh/leadcrys.htm
Here’s another link with some more info.
Orange juice and other acidic liquids speed up the leaching process, so don’t store them in leaded crystal. With normal use, you should have no problems with leaded glasses. I’m sure you can find any number of sites that’ll tell you different.
Should you be worried about drinking wine from a sparkly glass ? That comes down to how paranoid you choose to be. I’d be more concerned about the chemicals that leach out of the plastic containers bottled water is sold in.