Stanley is responding to claims that its products contain lead, clarifying that yes, lead is used in the manufacturing process, but the product needs to become damaged in order to expose the lead.
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Many social media users have expressed worry recently on the possibility of lead exposure when drinking from Stanley mugs. Is that accurate, though? This is important to know.
In response to allegations that lead is present in its goods, Stanley has clarified that lead is used during the production process, but that lead must be exposed through product damage, a representative for the company informed TODAY.com in a statement.
According to a Stanley representative, each quencher manufactured by the beverage container giant has a circular stainless steel barrier on the bottom that covers a lead pellet. The product’s vacuum insulation is sealed by the pellet, and access isn’t available unless the stainless steel barrier separates, which the representative said is “rarely” the case.
The spokeswoman continued, “Our supply chain and engineering teams are making progress on innovative, alternative materials for use in the sealing process.” In a different statement, the business maintained that all of its products abide with all U.S. regulatory requirements, as reported by Charlotte, North Carolina’s NBC affiliate WCNC.
Some Stanley customers recently posted on social media that they are testing at-home for lead in any of their Stanley items. The results of these tests have been inconsistent, while it is unclear which area of the cup is being tested and what kind of lead test is being used.
In order to comprehend why lead exposure is so deadly and how contamination typically happens, TODAY.com met with a number of specialists and government representatives.
Are Lead-filled Stanley Cups?
According to a Stanley representative, while lead is utilized in the production of their cups, there is only a chance of lead exposure if the tumbler’s bottom cover is removed, exposing the vacuum insulation pellet. You can file a claim under the company’s lifetime warranty if this occurs.
Drinking liquid from a Stanley mug poses little to no risk of lead exposure because the liquid inside the container doesn’t come into contact with the pellet. According to specialists, there is a risk if the circular cover slips off and users contact the exposed lead before touching their mouths or noses.
She has been passionate about protecting other parents from the dangers of lead poisoning ever since her then-7-month-old son was exposed to lead paint dust during a home renovation and suffered severe permanent brain damage. Rubin now advocates against using lead in any products that enter the home. In February, she sent Consumer Reports a tip based on her own lead testing that later led to a product recall. She has also submitted reports to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, or CPSC, about similar products that she says led to four additional recalls.
In March 2023, lead poisoning activist Tamara Rubin, also known as Lead Safe Mama, first raised awareness of the lead content in Stanley tumblers. When a customer purchases a product from Rubin’s website, she receives a commission. Among her recommendations are rivals to Stanley.
Related: Experts explain the proper and improper methods for cleaning a Stanley cup
According to Rubin, parents frequently send her goods that they think might contain lead. She tests for the presence of lead and other heavy metals using XRF technology, the same $35,000 spectrometer tool used by the CPSC. She claimed to have tested multiple Stanley tumblers that customers had mailed her after the bottom protective coverings came off and discovered lead.
Rubin stated, “I’ve heard from many people who say that for them it has, even though some people say [the] protective disc doesn’t come off easily.” She estimated that the number of those in the latter category was in the hundreds.
The dangers of poisoning from lead exposure
The dangers of poisoning from lead exposure
The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences states that lead is a metal that occurs naturally and is widely distributed throughout the Earth. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that while lead concentrations in soil are typically less than 50 parts per million, they can reach up to 200 parts per million in certain urban areas.
Lead was previously widely used in toys, gasoline, food, jewelry, cooking utensils, pottery, electronics, batteries, plumbing pipes, paint, and even cosmetics. It is a reasonably affordable, stable, and durable metal that doesn’t rust.
Although lead exposure has decreased thanks to federal and state regulations, lead is still present in some items today. The CDC actually keeps track of product recalls related to lead, ranging from food to cosmetics to medications to children’s apparel.
“The majority of people believe that lead poisoning is a thing of the past, but lead is still present in our environment, frequently at hazardous enough concentrations to cause serious harm,” Jenna Forsyth, a research scientist at Stanford University School of Medicine who specializes in epidemiology and environmental science, said to TODAY.com.
According to the CDC, lead poisoning is most frequently brought on by breathing in lead dust or particles, but it can also happen when someone touches a surface containing lead and then touches their mouth or nose, ingesting traces of the hazardous metal.
“Oatmeal that he had playfully smashed with the bottom of a water bottle where lead was exposed caused lead poisoning in a young child that I worked with,” Rubin added. Stanley did not make the bottle.
According to a study that was published in The Lancet, lead exposure-related cardiovascular disease claimed the lives of almost 5 million adults worldwide in 2019. Since they are more likely than adults to absorb lead, children are particularly vulnerable.
According to a study that was published in The Lancet, lead exposure-related cardiovascular disease claimed the lives of almost 5 million adults worldwide in 2019. Since they are more likely than adults to absorb lead, children are particularly vulnerable.
Paul Allwood, the chief of the lead poisoning prevention and monitoring department at the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health, stated in an email that “even low levels of lead that were once considered safe have been linked to harmful changes in intelligence, behavior, and health.”
Does this imply that I ought to part with my Stanley cup?
There’s no risk associated with having a Stanley cup as long as the lid stays in place, according to Levin. “You won’t be exposed to any lead and won’t experience any negative consequences if that barrier stays in place,” she stated.
Furthermore, health problems are rarely the result of a single lead exposure incident. Dr. Vicki Iannotti, an assistant professor of pediatrics at Columbia University and a pediatrician at ColumbiaDoctors in Tarrytown, New York, told TODAY.com that repeated exposure to lead is the most concerning thing.
“Things with rubbable dimples are a favorite fidget toy for children, especially babies,” the speaker stated. In the event that a parent allows their child to fidget with a Stanley mug after the bottom cap has fallen off, there is a high likelihood that the youngster will come into contact with microparticulate lead through regular hand-to-mouth movement.
“Things with rubbable dimples are a favorite fidget toy for children, especially babies,” the speaker stated. In the event that a parent allows their child to fidget with a Stanley mug after the bottom cap has fallen off, there is a high likelihood that the youngster will come into contact with microparticulate lead through regular hand-to-mouth movement.
Levin expressed similar worries, saying that “contamination can occur if a child puts the bottom of one of these cups against their mouth or rubs the surface with their fingers and then puts them in their mouth, even though lead poisoning is unlikely to happen from a single instance.”
And when lead comes in contact with anything acidic, it can become more absorbable, Forsyth said. That could occur if you’re drinking out of a cup with exposed lead and peeling an orange, then touch the exposed lead with fingers that have touched the orange and then touch your nose or mouth. “Ingesting lead is what you need to avoid the most,” Forsyth said.
Forsyth acknowledged that the chance of exposure from a single lead contact “is pretty low,” but he also mentioned some situations that would raise the danger, such scraping exposed lead against a rough surface. For instance, “tiny pieces of lead could flake off” if a cup with exposed lead is slid over a counter or moved in and out of a cupholder with harsh edges.
Thus, pay attention to the bottom of your Stanley cup to ensure that the lid stays in its proper place. Additionally, consumers may file a claim under the product’s lifetime guarantee if the cover does break off and reveal the lead-containing seal.
Stanley isn’t alone in using lead-containing pellets to seal its insulated cups. The Stanley spokesperson said in the statement that the pellet the company uses is “industry standard.” And Rubin said she has tested bottles from other companies that make insulated cups with similar pellets covered in fashion similar to Stanley’s.
Do other tumblers with insulation include lead?
As CPSC press secretary Patty Davis told TODAY.com, “it’s important to note that the CPSC monitors products, including insulated tumblers, for violating lead regulations. Recently, the CPSC recalled several children’s products because they had accessible pellets that contained levels that exceeded the federal lead content ban.” Products offered by PandaEar, Cupkin, Tiblue, Klickpick, and Laoion are a few examples.
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