Lead crystal decanter

Lead may leach from lead crystal decanters and glasses into the liquids they contain. Port wine that contained an initial concentration of 89 pg/L lead was stored for 4 months in crystal decanters containing up to 32% lead oxide. At the end of 4 months lead concentrations in the port were 5,331, 3,061, and 2,162 pg/L in decanters containing 32%, 32%, and 24% lead oxide, respectively. Lead was also found to elute from lead crystal wine glasses within minutes. Mean lead concentrations in wine contained in 12 glasses rose from 33 pg/L initially to 68, 81, 92, and 99 pg/L after 1, 2, 3, and 4 hours, respectively (Graziano and Blum 1991). 

Falcone, F., 1991, Migration of Lead into Alcoholic beverages During Storage in Lead Crystal Decanters. J. Food Protection, 54,5,378-380. 

Ealcone E (1991) Migration of lead into alcoholic beverages during storage in lead crystal decanters. 

Lead (Pb) compounds, the deadly cumulative poison indoors, can leach from old water pipes (in the form of soluble lead), and from badly glazed pottery, and even from lead crystal decanters. In a study, it was shown that the rate of lead extraction from a 100 mm diameter PVC waste water pipe system was 0.7 pg [26] and that the sewer system can contribute 0.5 pg/l/lead to the wastewater [27], On the other hand, in the CSIRO report it is concluded that, under normal use conditions in the potable water industry, the level of lead extracted from properly commissioned PVC pipe has been found to be below the levels of detection [27]. 

Bruce R. Appel et al., Potential Lead Exposures from Lead Crystal Decanters, American Journal of Public Health 82 (1992) 1671-1673. 

Appel BR, Kahlon JK, Ferguson J et al (1992) Potential lead exposures from lead crystal decanters. Am J Public Health 82 1671-1673... 

Leaded glass crystal contains from 24 to 32% lead oxide, which can leach out into its contents. It can be particularly dangerous for storing alcoholic beverages. The more acidic the liquid, the more lead it absorbs. Recent studies of numerous brands of crystal decanters found unsafe levels of lead, leading to moderate to extremely high contamination of wines and other alcoholic beverages they contained. ... 

Barbee SJ, Constantine LA (1994) Release of lead from crystal decanters under conditions of normal use. Food Chem Toxicol 32 285-288... 

If-Phenylenediamine, when warmed with dilute sulphuric acid and potassium bichromate or lead peroxide, gives the odour of quinone (p.-iqa). After warming and cooling, extract with ether. The ethereal solution has a yellow colour. Decant the ether extract on to a watch-glass and leave it to evapoiate in the air. A deposit of microscopic yellow crystals remains. See Appendix., p. 286. 

Commercially, lead azide is usually manufactured by precipitation in the presence of dextrine, which considerably modifies the crystalline nature of the product. The procedure adopted is to add a solution of dextrine to the reaction vessel, often with a proportion of the lead nitrate or lead acetate required in the reaction. The bulk solutions of lead nitrate and of sodium azide are, for safety reasons, usually in vessels on the opposite sides of a blast barrier. They are run into the reaction vessel at a controlled rate, the whole process being conducted remotely under conditions of safety for the operator. When precipitation is complete, the stirring is stopped and the precipitate allowed to settle the mother liquor is then decanted. The precipitate is washed several times with water until pure. The product contains about 95% lead azide and consists of rounded granules composed of small lead azide crystals it is as safe as most initiating explosives and can readily be handled with due care. 

A. Gawalowsky purified the commercial salt by boiling it with freshly precipitated lead carbonate, adding sodium hydrocarbonate to the decanted liquid, and evaporating in vacuo, when sodium hydrocarbonate crystallizes out. The mother liquid is evaporated, and the first washings rejected. The main fraction is redissolved, crystallized from water with refined wood charcoal, and filtered through platinum wool. 

---