This claim about lead being present in Stanley tumblers was very misleading. By stating Stanley contains lead, the reader believes the cups are not only unsafe, but contain large amounts of lead. Merlyn Miller explains the history of Stanley cups containing lead. Stanley is a very large drinkware company which became very popular for their Stanley tumbler. This cup became prominent on social media and many people began collecting the cups and testing how long hot /cold drinks could stay warm/cold. During this time, lots of articles and videos came out about lead being in their cups. Stanley faced lots of backlash online because of the claims that Stanley products contained traces of lead. This resulted in many people becoming upset and confused that they had been consuming traces of lead over the past few months and in some cases, years of use. Miller describes that Stanleys do in fact contain lead, but it is in the space between the interior and exterior of the cup “Stanley cups do have a small lead pellet in their base, which helps create vacuum-sealed insulation, enabling them to hold temperature steady for a long period of time.” (Miller) The company ensures that the lead pellet is not in contact with the customers, or the liquid that is in the cup.
There is a stainless steel layer over the lead pellet that makes sure that no lead is exposed, and if the cup was to ever be damaged in a way that the lead was somehow exposed you would need to dispose of the cup for your safety, “Jack Caravanos, a professor of public health at New York University who studies the effects of lead exposure, tested three of the cups himself and came up with no lead. He even said he tried to pry the cup open to test the inside, and failed.” (Bregel) this explores that even though these cups contain levels of lead the company does everything in their power to make sure that it does not get out. “"There appears to be lead, according to the report," Caravanos told the BBC, "but I had trouble detecting it and wasn’t able to detect it using state-of-the-art equipment." He says this is probably because the lead was "too deep inside the unit", meaning it would be very tough to be exposed to it or ingest it.” (Bregel)
It has also been explained that drinkware companies often use lead pellets in their bottles/cups to create a vacuum seal. “Lead soldering is low-cost and easy to use and is a common practice from a variety of manufacturers.” (Giordano) So while many companies may use lead soldering to create water bottles there is also a wide variety that does not use lead and water bottles if you are looking for a completely lead free option.
Stanley Cups Safe to Use? We’re Settling the Debate
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20240130-stanley-cups-contain-lead-should-consumers-worry
https://www.wired.com/story/stanley-cup-lead-soldering/
