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New Year's resolutions are often hard to keep but my first one is easy and green: Stop drinking wine out of leaded crystal stemware. This won't be too hard, as many of our crystal wine glasses have broken over the years. When I looked at replacing them, the fact that they contained lead made me stop and think. Is there a health risk? Is there a better alternative?News stories in 2007 about lead paint in children's toys have brought the problem into the popular consciousness. But lead is a nasty environmental hangover that's been around for generations, which we've explained in a previous post about detecting and removing lead paint.
Does leaded crystal pose a health risk? Experts seem to agree that while the danger is small if the wine is consumed over a short space of time (such as a dinner), trace amounts of lead do leach into beverages, especially white wine, and that wine should never be stored in leaded crystal.
Canadian government tests found that the lead released can build up over time and reach 100 times the allowable level after weeks or months. To minimize lead exposure, experts recommend that children and pregnant women avoid daily use of lead crystal and some ceramics, especially for hot beverages.
Personally speaking, we won't be throwing out all of our lead crystal glasses in 2008-but we won't be adding any either. The alternative for us-although I still have questions-are breathable wine glasses which look beautiful, are an affordable luxury, and according to some oenophiles improve the taste of the wine.
I'm pleased to discover an innovative product which allows us to discontinue use of traditional leaded crystal, but I would like to know more about the "fully natural process" the manufacturer refers to. Ariel Fenster, a university reviewer wonders if the company's "proprietary oxygenation treatment" is possibly the same used in sports clothing made out of Gore-Tex which also "breathe."
What are your New Year's Resolutions? Share them with us by leaving a comment. Cheers to a happy, healthy and greener 2008!
Difficulty Level: Easy
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