Is Your Kitchen Putting Your Family at Risk of Lead Exposure?
Most parents know about the common risk factors for lead poisoning. Old pipes, old paint, and, more recently, some imported toys and imitation jewelry have all been proven to pose a lead exposure threat. Since lead poisoning causes such damage to the development of children, responsible parents try to keep informed about new sources of this harmful heavy metal. Some sources can’t be helped—the use of gasoline treated with lead tetraethyl, for example, raised American blood levels of lead by an enormous amount until it was banned from the US in the 1980s, and atmospheric levels of lead remain high. Some sources are hidden. Your kitchen, for example, might harbor several materials and products that contain sources of lead.
Food Packaging
Canned goods in the US were sealed with lead solder as recently as 1995, when the FDA finally banned its use. However, not all countries have enacted similar bans, so some cans and bottles imported from foreign countries may have been sealed with lead solder or other lead-containing compounds. If you regularly shop at ethnic or import grocery stores, you may be bringing such products into your home. Highly acidic foods are more likely to cause the lead solder to dissolve, so avoid buying imported foods such as wine, tomatoes, citrus products, and colas, unless the label clearly indicates it was packed in the USA or a European Union member country.
Another source of lead is the paint on plastic bread bags. Many thrift-minded people will turn these bags inside out once the bread is eaten and store sandwiches or leftovers in them. This brings the food inside into contact with the lead-bearing paint, which can then leach a tiny amount of lead into the food. While the amount of lead in one bag’s worth of paint is not enough to cause major harm, regular exposure to it can build up in the system, causing health problems.
Ceramicware Glazes May Contain Lead
When dishes and cups are manufactured, they are sealed with a glaze to make them impervious to moisture and normal temperature changes. While most commercial dinnerware on sale domestically has moved away from high levels of lead in their glazes, it can still become an issue. Damaged or defectively-glazed ceramicware may leach lead from the inner glaze into the outer glaze, and then into your food, especially with repeated heating.
The major risk is from imported, antique, or handmade ceramics. Lead pigments and glazes are used on these products, and serving food or drinks from dishes made with these glazes can result in acute lead poisoning. Whenever you bring home a new dish from a questionable source, test it for lead with a commercial lead-test swab, being sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. If in doubt, make it a decoration, and be sure your entire family understands which pieces are safe for food and which aren’t.
Malfunctioning Appliances or Exposed Wires
Very few families would continue to run a coffeemaker or can opener with broken parts or exposed wires, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility. Frayed power cables are not only a fire hazard, they often contain lead solder. Quickly replace any damaged electrical cables to prevent exposure.
Finally, if you live in a home built before 1978, your kitchen may contain lead paint or lead piping. Check with a certified professional to test for these sources of lead, and always have a professional remove them.