Another source of lead in kids.

Potentially toxic amounts of lead can leach from good crystal into any drink it holds (SN: 1/26/91, p. 54). But the heavy metal poses its biggest risk to children, who don't tend to sip their milk, juice, and sodas from crystal goblets. So Charles V. Shorten and Mary L. Glowacki of West Chester (Pa.) University asked whether some other use of crystal, such as vinegar stored in crystal cruets, might add lead to children's diets.

Their 42-day study of 13 different cruets showed that lead's passage into the acidic liquid started quite rapidly, reaching an average of 162 micrograms per liter (g/l) within the first hour. By the end of the trial, lead concentrations in the vinegar had climbed to an average of 730 g/l, or 8 times the level achieved in distilled water. These data suggest that a 16-kilogram child could thus acquire 15 percent of the federal government's provisional daily tolerable intake from all sources.