Study finds high levels of toxic metals on drinking glasses

Are you being poisoned by that favorite mug or glass?

It just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without setting the table with those beautiful drinking goblets Aunt Mary gave you.

But those glasses — along with any others that contain decorative designs, especially around the rim — may be slowly poisoning you and your family.

A new study from researchers in the UK has found that the majority of decorated glasses they tested (which included tumblers, along with ones for beer and wine) contained high levels of toxic metals — either lead or cadmium.

Some even had both!

This research tells us that it’s urgent for you to immediately take stock of what you, your family members, and your guests are drinking from… and know exactly what to look for before anyone takes another sip out of vintage — or even brand-new — decorated drinkware.

A toxic toast
While lead made headlines when it flowed from the taps in Flint, Michigan, it looks there are lots of other ways to be ingesting this toxic substance.

In a just-out study, researchers from the University of Plymouth discovered that a shocking number of glasses tested — around 70 percent — contained lead and/or cadmium in the paint (and glaze) used to decorate them.

Dr. Andrew Turner, who led the study, said that even he was “surprised” to “find such high levels” of these toxic substances both on the outside of the glassware and around the rim, right where your mouth goes.

And if you’re wondering how high, well, these levels are absolutely frightening.

For example, researchers found up to 400,000 ppm of lead — with cadmium being detected up to a toxic load of 70,000 ppm — and that was coming off of the rims! The scientists said that drinking acidic beverages out of them, such as soda, could easily release both substances.

While lead is known to be toxic to the brain, especially where kids are concerned, studies have found that it can also cause brain damage in adults and harm your heart and kidneys.

Cadmium can also damage your kidneys, along with your bones and lungs. Plus that, it’s a well-known carcinogen.

While regulators have put a “limit” on the amount of lead (200 ppm) and cadmium (800 ppm) on the lip area of drinking glasses, most experts will tell you that for both of these toxins, there is no safe level of exposure.

Now, you would think that using such poisons on dishware would only be a concern for very old items made before we knew any better. But this toxic problem appears to come up again and again.

Seven years ago, McDonald’s recalled 12 million drinking glasses decorated with the cartoon character Shrek when it was discovered that the paint used on them contained cadmium — and those were manufactured right here in the U.S.!

And that same year, Coke recalled close to 90,000 decorated glasses when they were found to contain levels of cadmium. Previously, the Associated Press found that a variety of movie-character glasses purchased from the Warner Brother Studios store contained lead more than 1,000 times the “limit” for children’s toys.

So, it’s obvious the danger isn’t going away.

This means you need to take a close look at your dishes and remove some from circulation — and yes, that could include the one that says you’re the world’s greatest grandparent!

First, any mug or glass that has paint around its rim should not be used to drink out of unless you’re planning on sending it off to a laboratory to get tested. The same goes for decanters, mugs, and teapots with painted pouring spouts.

The most dangerous color appears to be red, with this new research finding red enamel items were the ones most likely to contain cancer-causing cadmium. And decorative gold leaf designs were found to be typically contaminated with lead.

Some retailers who sell a lot of painted dishware, such as Pier One, claim to conduct safety testing, but you really need to find out exactly how often that’s being done and what they’re testing for.

And yes, there are safer options, such as organic inks that do not contain these toxic metals.

But unless we know for certain those have been used, it looks like avoiding ingesting colorful contaminants means we’ll have to be satisfied drinking out of “plain” mugs that don’t have our names or cutesy messages painted on them!

“Drinking glasses can contain harmful levels of lead and cadmium” Alan Williams, November 6, 2017, Plymouth University, plymouth.ac.uk