Lead migration from lead crystal wine glasses

Lead release from lead crystal wine glasses was measured at 15 contact times from 1 min to 24 h (1440 min) in 4% acetic acid and wine at room temperature. Lead release at 1 min was equal to approximately 50 and 30% of cumulative lead release measured at 30 and 1440 min, respectively, in both extractants. Lead release at 1440 min was 467 ng/ml in acetic acid and 358 ng/ml in wine. Lead release was less in wine (pH 3.14) than in acetic acid (pH 2.39) because of the increased pH and ethanol content of wine. Lead release was also measured under conditions that simulated consumer use. In experiments with chilled and room temperature wine that was steadily removed from vessels during 1-30 min of contact, results were not significantly less than results of experiments in which wine temperature was 20.0 +/- 2.5 degrees C and contact area was constant. In repeated-leaching experiments, the total micrograms of lead released in 30 min decreased and was a function of 1/L2, where L was leach number. Wine results fit a linear regression model of lead release vs square root of time which was previously proposed to describe corrosion of lead silicate glass by acetic acid. Slopes and intercepts of the square-root-of-time model were used to explain results of repeated-leaching experiments.