Posted on 02/04/2024 4:28:39 PM PST by nickcarraway
Social media is a fickle mistress. She’ll shine a light on a product and then just as quickly cast a shadow over it. That’s basically the abridged life story of the Stanley cup, that enormous, pastel-colored insulated tumbler peddled so hard online that even your dad’s accountant probably owns a couple. Now, a flood of social media posts are circulating the fact that Stanley cups are manufactured using lead—a known toxin. (Stanley’s website does disclose the use of lead.)
The discourse has spawned a flurry of jokes about the wholesome brand, which started as a thermos for tough guys and has since become an accessory to influencers and hydration enthusiasts. A recent sketch on Saturday Night Live, titled “Big Dumb Cups,” showed Heidi Gardner sipping from a buttery yellow quencher and deadpanning: “I’m getting lead.” Worried users even used home lead tests to swab their Stanleys for the metal, some sharing positive results online. (Experts have warned that the reliability of at-home lead tests can vary.)
In a statement to WCNC, a Stanley spokesperson addressed the lead concerns, emphasizing that its products meet US regulatory requirements and that it verifies compliance “through FDA-accredited third-party labs.” In a separate statement to TODAY, a company spokesperson said, “Rest assured that no lead is present on the surface of any Stanley product that comes into contact with the consumer nor the contents of the product.”
At the base of every insulated Stanley product, a stainless-steel circular barrier shields a lead-based solder that’s used to seal the cup, which the brand claims is essential for its vacuum insulation technology. (Stanley hasn’t disclosed how much lead this small metal bead contains.) Assuming that the barrier remains intact and the lead inaccessible, most experts tell me that there’s nothing to worry about—you can keep your beloved tumbler.
“I think it is important to note that the lead bead is not actually inside the beverage reservoir of a cup,” says Joe Zagorski, PhD, a toxicologist at Michigan State University’s Center of Research on Ingredient Safety, who’s unfazed by the drama. “Your beverage would not contact the lead dot.”
But others are concerned about the potential health risks if the stainless-steel button were to fall off. “Even low levels of lead exposure can have significant impacts,” says Vanessa Risetto, MS, RD, CDN, a registered dietitian and the CEO of Culina Health. Here’s everything you need to know.
How the conversation around lead in Stanleys started The latest hubbub was sparked by Tamara Rubin, founder of Lead Safe Mama, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about lead poisoning and reporting on lead-safe choices for consumers. Rubin, whose own son was poisoned by lead as an infant, first posted about lead in Stanley tumblers in March last year.
By August, TikTok users had shared a slew of videos testing the insides of their Stanley tumblers for lead using kits bought online. One (since deleted) viral video, showing a mother testing the lead solder under Stanley’s circular protective cap, which appears to have been glued on, garnered 2.2 million views. The trend resurfaced on Facebook this January, when influencer Casey Janette Russell claimed a home lead test on her Stanley cups came back positive (again, experts caution relying on these). Her post was shared 19,000 times in five days.
A Stanley spokesperson told TODAY that it’s possible but unlikely that the protective stainless-steel caps covering the lead solder would dislodge, unless the bottle was severely damaged. According to the Stanley website: “In the rare occurrence the base cap of a product comes off due to ordinary use and exposes this seal, it is eligible for our Lifetime Warranty.” And the cup has developed a reputation for being unbreakable. Last fall, a woman’s car caught on fire, and once the burning stopped, only her Stanley cup remained intact. Still, Rubin estimates that hundreds of her readers have contacted her saying that the covers came off naturally, exposing the lead. Since her first post in March, she’s tested a slew of these cups, which were mailed to her by readers.
Unlike the home testing swabs, which are known to be unreliable, Rubin uses XRF technology—generally considered more accurate—and reports that she has confirmed the presence of lead. “The ‘pellet’ they melt to create the ‘sealing dot’ for the vacuum seal of these product is not just made with ‘some lead’ but appears to be made with an alloy that contains between 400,000 to 600,000 [parts per million] lead,” she wrote in her latest post on the topic. (Rubin earns a commission on recommended products that are purchased through her website, some of which are competitors to Stanley.)
When asked for comment, a Stanley representative referred Bon Appétit to the brand’s website and did not respond to specific claims.
What to know about lead exposure
Lead is a metal that’s naturally present in the earth. Mining, and its historical use in pesticides, plumbing, house paints, and even toy manufacture, made it more prolific in our environment. And exposure to lead has been linked to a range of adverse health effects, say experts.
Even low levels, which were once considered safe, have been associated with cardiovascular diseases, reproductive problems, irreversible organ damage, lowered IQ, and behavioral disorders. Children, whose developing bodies absorb four to five times as much lead as adults, are especially susceptible to its harmful effects.
Your drink won’t come in contact with the lead solder, which is underneath the cup. But if the protective button shielding it comes off your Stanley, “the vicinity should not be touched by children,” says Katarzyna Kordas, an associate professor of public health at the University of Buffalo, who says the true risk here is difficult to ascertain without Stanley disclosing how much lead is used in its formulations. “Caregivers should use a household cleaner and paper towels to clean up the area” and ensure thorough handwashing afterward. Kordas adds, “If the seal stays on, then there should be no health risks from lead.”
Touching lead isn’t necessarily dangerous (it’s more so ingestion and inhalation you need to worry about). But Kordas’s precaution should be heeded because kids and adults can easily transport the tiny particles from any exposed lead to their mouths while, say, eating a bag of chips (the lead goes from hand to chip to mouth). It’s this simple, and possibly unknowing, transfer that has experts most concerned about Stanley’s use of lead. “No amount of lead is safe,” says Jane Houlihan, the research director at Happy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF), which has extensively researched heavy metals in infant and toddler foods.
Repeated exposure poses even more risk than a onetime event. “The body does not easily rid itself of lead, which can build up in the blood over time, possibly leading to lead toxicity,” says Venus Kalami, MNSP, RD, CSP, a pediatric dietitian and nutritionist at Solid Starts. Symptoms of lead poisoning can include nausea, vomiting, anemia, loss of appetite, and irritability—and anyone experiencing them should see a doctor immediately.
Lots of insulated cups and water bottles are made with lead Despite its known risks, lead-based solders are used by many insulated bottle and cup manufacturers, mostly because the metal melts and fuses easily, and it’s affordable. And, probably, because customers weren’t talking about it all that much, until now. Though a Stanley spokesperson told TODAY that its engineering and supply chain teams “are making progress on innovative, alternative materials for use in the sealing process,” plenty of other companies (such as Owala and Hydro Flask) are currently lead-free.
Rubin sent a tip about lead in the Bindle bottle to Consumer Reports, which resulted in a recall earlier this year. She also contacted Hydro Flask about lead in its products over a decade ago, which the brand confirms prompted it to make a change. She “brought awareness to the issue,” says Larry Witt, the president of home and outdoor at Helen of Troy, Hydro Flask’s owner. The brand developed an alternative seal in 2012, which Witt admits “was more complex and ultimately more expensive” to produce. But at the time the company changed the solder, it didn’t raise prices.
Even so, sticking with lead might be more costly for brands if recalls happen. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC)—which actively monitors products for potential lead regulation violations—recently recalled several children’s tumblers from PandaEar, Cupkin, Tiblue, Klickpick, and Laoion, due to pellets (similar to those used by Stanley) surpassing federal lead content limits. With few limited exceptions, children’s products sold in the US must not contain more than 100 parts per million (ppm) of total lead content in accessible parts.
“Companies that use lead are promoting the mining, manufacturing, and refinement of toxicants,” Rubin tells me. “If these companies were using alternatives, they wouldn’t be contaminating waterways, they wouldn’t be poisoning our air, and we’d have a much healthier population.”
Risetto, the registered dietitian, agrees. Whether or not Stanley customers ever come into contact with the lead solder used in their cups, she says the use of the metal is “a miss,” considering its potential for harm. “If others have totally replaced lead in their manufacturing processes, why can’t Stanley?”
Isn’t the Stanley Cup made out of silver?
5.56mm
Bahahaha these are the ones idiots are practically killing themselves over lol
Pb poisoning probably played a big part in driving the Romans mad.
Those hockey players are quite strong to hold it up, especially on skates!
I don’t even play hockey so I’m not too worried
This is silly. The concentration is minimal, but hey, California has outlawed lead crystal. So you can’t celebrate New Year drinking from your champagne flutes.
The way the story reads, it’s not the same thing. Are they replicas, or just coincidence? (Some company named Stanley makes the cups??)
How much ya wanna bet this Tamara Rubin is a hard core fan of electric cars? Remember, little black kids dying from this stuff in Africa counts for squat if it is for the righteous purpose.
I just have a feeling.
“400,000 to 600,000 [parts per million] lead”
Wow, that’s a lot of lead. Just kidding. That’s a normal Sn/Pb alloy. 40% to 60% lead. A tiny dot of that poison will sorrow you dead where you stand. Just kidding again.
I think I’m gonna go lick a bullet.
That’ll probably kill me. Nice knowing y’all.
Worse than that — it’s 400,000,000 to 600,000,000 parts per billion!
Don’t eat them.
“Pb poisoning probably played a big part in driving the Romans mad.”
Plumbum poisoning killing lots of Chicagoans too.
OMG! It’s far worse than I thought!
Also, if you were to pry off the protective cap to expose the solder and then chug a few cupsful of ammonia or another lead solvent, you could actually ingest some lead! Might be the least of your worries at that point, though.
we need more lead crystal.
Sparkly and delicious...
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