Recently I had some keys made. On the card each key is attached to, it says:
Warning: Keys contain lead. Avoid contact with mouth. May be harmful if eaten.
I was completely taken aback. I had no idea. I expect they put the lead in so that they’re easier to cut? How dangerous is it to handle? I always keep my keys in my back pocket. Should I stop? Should I wash my hands every time I use my keys?
Keys are made from brass. Brass contains contains lead. Most keys are nickel coated. Don’t eat your keys and you’ll be fine.
is touching brass safe? How safe is it? I think I touch brass all the time. I have a have a brass key chain link. Is it safe to touch?
OK. Thanks.
Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. Different brasses have different proportions of copper and zinc and other stuff.
Some brasses have a small amount of lead added (up to about 2%) to make them easier to work. Exposure to lead from touching leaded brass keys is not trivial, but probably not hazardous unless ingested.
I’d still prefer nickel-plated keys over solid brass ones. They still have some lead in them, but it won’t rub off through the plating.
I was under the impression lead was included for its mild dry lubricant properties, many soft metals can have that effect.
Not trying to scare anyone, but any key which is nickel plated will have the nickel plating ground off the part where the key pattern is. The key grinder removes it as it shapes the key to fit your lock.
So the sharpest edges most likely to make minor abrasions in your skin are also the parts which have zero nickel plating.
Keys are very small; there’s only trace amounts of lead in the alloy; of that, only trace amounts will come out in ordinary wear; of that, what you’ll get will be elemental lead, not any of its compounds, which has low bioavailability; and of that, it’ll still be outside of your skin, which is not a particularly strong pathway for lead to enter the body; and even of that which does get in and get absorbed, you’re presumably already an adult, and have passed the most dangerous time for lead absorption.
Basically, if you grind all of your keys into a powder, heat the powder in a Bunsen burner, and tell your kids to breath deeply from the fumes and then eat the ash, then you should worry.
Product warnings exist not to protect the public from the product, but to protect the producer from litigation. The danger is near zero, but that doesn’t always convince a jury. I once counted 32 different warnings on the labeling of a 97-cent extension cord.
How do they get away with selling keys in California ?
You should wash your hands frequently, not because of lead in your keys but because your hands touch stuff all the time and pick up dirt and bacteria and stuff from the environment, often bacteria left by other peoples’ hands.
Not to scare anyone but the brass fittings in your water supply also contains lead … so washing your hands to remove the lead from your keys might not be the greatest idea in the world …
Also, you know those silica gel dessicant packets that come in pill bottles and other products?
DON’T EAT THEM.
At least that’s what the warning label says. I hear they’re quite tasty. :dubious:
Well ain’t that grand…
WTF are we supposed to do now for our Festivus celebration?
Yes, the alloy is called “free cutting” or “free machining” brass. The lead content means material is machined off in small chips instead of a continuous ribbon, and greatly reduces deposits on the cutting tool bit.
Actually, the copper in brass has anti-bacterial properties.
In 1999, the largest manufacturer of key blanks in the world (Ilco) promised to reduce the amount of lead in their keys from 2% down to 1.5% in order to convince the state of California not to label house keys as a hazardous substance. Brass - Wikipedia
As a locksmith, I worry about this. Most people only touch keys a few times a day, so the trace amounts of lead won’t hurt them. But what about me? I touch hundreds of keys every day, and get piles of brass shavings all over my work bench. Maybe I’m getting lead poisoning and don’t even know it.
This is so silly a fear. Put it in perspective!
The amount of lead in the bass of a key is so small, and the amount of it tha would wear off, and be absorbed into your skin is so much smaller …
Somebody more technical than me could get the figures, but you probably absorb more lead by breathing in the exhaust fumes from traffic on your commute to & from work.
Even if we agree the hazard is small, there’s still the point of why … make the job of a tiny few easier? If there’s was 2% arsenic in house paint so paint brushes cleaned up better, would this be okay?
Now, if there’s a good reason to lace brass with a dangerous neurotoxin, let’s hear it … but so far in this thread I’ve only heard that the lead makes shavings easier to vacuum up … and that’s flat lame …
I bet if you mention this to your physician, (s)he could allay your fears with a simple blood test.