Lately, I've heard on youtube many side comments on the problems with plastics. I've done some research into this, but need to do more research. For instance, PET plastic and phthalates (Not to be confused with plasticizer phthalates use in some polymers such as vinyl). My semi-conclusion right now is it is a NOTHING BURGER. But, I'll continue to look into this. Since my BS degree is in Chemical Engineering and I've been involved in NUMEROUS industries, I think I can do a pretty good analysis on this. But I am not a CHEMIST. There is a big difference.
But one thing is for sure: You can run....but you cannot hide. You may think you're in good shape not using plastics, but...your choice of an alternative material may not do what you think it will do.
That's why I thought I would highlight this: ceramic cups and bowls.
About 35 years ago I went to a family reunion. Way-back-when, my grandfather had settled in Georgia and raised his family there. So, that's pretty much been the anchor for where most of my clan lives.
The more notable member of the clan was my Uncle Bill Gordy. William A. Gordy was considered the most well-regarded potter in all of Georgia. Many of his creations are on display in the Smithsonian Museum. We had a chance to spend some alone time with him. He took us to his studio. It doubled as a store. And all the shelves were bare.
"I can't make this stuff fast enough. I'm a year behind on my backlog," he said, waving his hand at the bare shelves.
He put on a demonstration for us. It was fascinating. He started from scratch and explained every step - 99% of it I barely remember. But there was one thing he said that popped my eyes open:
"The worst part of all of this is having to deal with the Federal Inspectors."
I asked, "What? What the heck do they have to do with this?"
"Oh, they check for lead in the cup."
What the.... I had never heard anything about this. Lead in the clay?
Apparently, in the glaze, but also can be found in the clay.
However, there are lead free glazes available. I don't know anything about them, other than they do exist.
I do recall that excessive lead was found in numerous ceramic cups made in China. I can't find any articles to link to.
Doing some surfing on the internet, this is still a really big problem. From her post in 2019 From Lead Safe Mama:
Since testing those first mugs, I have probably tested more than 1,000 mugs (they are one of the most popular things that people ask me to test and people often have collections of 20 or more mugs in their homes) and nearly all of the mugs I have tested have had at least some amount of Lead — some at ridiculously high levels (in the tens of thousands of parts per million!) Lead is added to many of the pattern transfers, as well as to brightly-colored glazes as an ingredient that helps to stabilize the color (as I understand it), but it is not necessary for this purpose — as some companies have demonstrated that it is quite feasible to make mugs that are completely Lead-free...
She had bought an XRF unit to test the cups. This mama-jewel can be found on Ebay for about $9,000.
Unfortunately, she does not break down how many ceramic items had this or that amount of lead. Other than "nearly all of the mugs" had some level of lead.
So,, what do you do? Refrain from ceramics all together? Right now, my go-to mug at work is stainless steel. But at home I have a vast array of mugs gathered from all over the world, filling several cabinets.
Things I've read ( as Lead Safe Mama mentions) say that sources of the lead are sometimes bright colored paint or bright colors in the glaze. If that's the case, then Uncle Gordy's pottery would never ever leach anything at all. His mostly-used glaze is sort of a muddy color:
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