You may see the pellet that Stanley refers to on the backside of your drink container. It seals these layers collectively the place all of them meet on the backside of the bottle, in a course of referred to as lead soldering. Technically, the vessel does comprise lead, but it surely’s enclosed with chrome steel and may by no means are available in contact along with your drink or pores and skin. Nevertheless, must you drop the water bottle or if it in any other case will get broken and this piece of metal comes unfastened, there’s an opportunity the lead will be uncovered to your pores and skin.
Lead is a naturally occurring poisonous metallic. The World Well being Group (WHO) cites that there isn’t any protected stage of lead publicity. “As soon as lead enters the physique, it’s distributed to organs such because the mind, kidneys, liver, and bones.” Excessive ranges of lead publicity will be deadly. With decrease ranges of publicity—which might occur with a microscopic quantity—lead poisoning in adults could cause nerve problems, decreased kidney perform, and fertility points. In youngsters, it may trigger developmental delays and seizures. The WHO says youngsters are “significantly susceptible to guide poisoning as a result of they soak up 4 to 5 occasions as a lot ingested lead as adults.”
“Lead is ubiquitous within the setting, so low ranges of each day publicity are a reality of life,” says Jane Houlihan, nationwide director of science and well being at Wholesome Infants Shiny Futures. “Exposures and dangers add up everyday from lead in meals, water, home mud, and soil. This makes it all of the extra essential for corporations to maintain lead out of shopper merchandise. Kids don’t want one other potential supply of lead of their lives.”
What Do Different Manufacturers Use?
Lead soldering is low-cost and straightforward to make use of and is a typical apply from quite a lot of producers. Nevertheless, different strategies can be found. A number of of the reusable water bottle corporations we reached out to don’t use lead of their manufacturing course of. Here is the record:
- Owala (no lead), which makes our favourite water bottle the FreeSip, and a Stanley-dupe tumbler, says it has by no means used lead in its manufacturing course of. “The manufacturing of vacuum-sealed containers utilizing lead-free solder is extra pricey and sophisticated. Nevertheless, we made a dedication from day one with Owala to make use of lead-free solder on our bottles,” an Owala spokesperson says.
- Hydro Flask (no lead since 2013), one other internet-famous water bottle firm, stopped utilizing lead solder greater than 10 years in the past. “By mid-2013, the lead was out of the Hydro Flask manufacturing course of as a result of the model designed a proprietary sealant, TempShield,” a Hydro Flask spokesperson says.
- Klean Kanteen (no lead) additionally forgoes lead, as an alternative utilizing a noncrystalline silica bead to create its vacuum-insulated bottles. “The method, utilizing silica as an alternative of lead, is identical besides greater warmth is required to soften the silica,” says Wealthy Haver, the corporate’s director of worldwide operations. Whereas some types of silica will be harmful if very wonderful particles are inhaled—sand is comprised of crystalline silica, so even finer than that—this does not apply to noncrystalline silica glass. “Silica in its noncrystalline type doesn’t have the identical respiratory well being properties as crystalline silica,” says Marty Cohen, a instructing professor within the Division of Environmental and Occupational Well being Sciences on the College of Washington.
- Sigg (no lead) makes chrome steel bottles in Switzerland and it confirmed it makes use of lead-free soldering for all of its vacuum-sealed merchandise.
- MiiR (lead used) confirmed its use of lead in its manufacturing course of with a few of its merchandise. Based on its web site, “This pellet does comprise lead for manufacturing effectivity, waste discount, and to make sure a whole seal. For these causes and since there’s zero lead publicity, MiiR makes use of this course of with confidence.”
- LifeStraw (lead used) makes straws and filtered bottles that take away micro organism, microplastics, and parasites from water. We actually appreciated the Go Collection Filtered Water Bottle for that reason. That makes it probably the most stunning firm to verify it makes use of “a lead soldering dot as a part of the manufacturing sealing course of.”
- Yeti (lead used) is a common outside gear producer, and whereas it has not responded to a number of requests for remark, the corporate’s FAQ part on its web site says its Yeti Rambler drinkware makes use of a sealing pellet with a lead soldering course of.
- Different manufacturers (unknown): The next corporations haven’t responded to our requests for remark: S’effectively, HydroJug, and Greens Metal.
The Downside With Lead in Manufacturing
Even when the cup or bottle is rarely broken and also you’re by no means uncovered to guide, if it is used within the manufacturing course of, employees are nonetheless across the materials ultimately. The solder coaching institute EPTAC says on its web site that the quantity of lead on solders is probably going not going to trigger extreme well being issues, however there’s nonetheless a danger for employees uncovered to guide in the course of the course of.
“When lead is utilized in manufacturing, there’s a danger of lead publicity for customers of these merchandise, particularly for merchandise supposed to be used in meals consumption, like drinkware,” says a consultant for the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. “There may be additionally a possible occupational security danger for employees and, with out correct safeguards, could possibly be a danger for employees’ households by means of take-home lead exposures.”
In case your Stanley bottle or cup will get broken, you’ll be able to ask for a alternative below Stanley’s lifetime guarantee. We requested Stanley if prospects might return undamaged cups, or if the corporate plans to vary its manufacturing course of, but it surely solely pointed us to the identical info web page about its use of lead.
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