{"title":"Evaluating metal cookware as a source of lead exposure.","authors":"Katie M Fellows, Shar Samy, Stephen G Whittaker","doi":"10.1038/s41370-024-00686-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>We previously demonstrated that aluminum cookware brought from Afghanistan by resettled families as well as some aluminum cookware available for purchase in the United States represent a previously unrecognized source of lead exposure. However, the extent to which this cookware represents a source of lead exposure to other United States residents is unclear.</p><p><strong>Objectives: </strong>To test additional cookware for lead content and its propensity to leach lead and other toxic metals. This will further our understanding of the extent to which this cookware represents a lead poisoning risk in the United States and elsewhere.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We screened an additional 28 pieces of aluminum cookware and 5 brass items for lead content using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer and used our leachate method to estimate the amount of lead that migrates into food. We also tested 17 additional stainless steel items to determine whether they would be safer alternatives.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Many aluminum cookware products contained in excess of 100 parts per million (ppm) of lead. Many also leached enough lead under simulated cooking and storage conditions to exceed recommended dietary limits. One hindalium appam pan (an Indian frying pan/wok) leached sufficient lead to exceed the childhood limit by 1400-fold. Brass cookpots from India also yielded high lead levels, with one exceeding the childhood limit by over 1200-fold. In contrast, stainless steel cookware leached much lower levels of lead.</p><p><strong>Impact: </strong>Aluminum and brass cookware available for purchase in the United States represents a previously unrecognized source of lead exposure.</p>","PeriodicalId":15684,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.1000,"publicationDate":"2024-05-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-024-00686-7","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: We previously demonstrated that aluminum cookware brought from Afghanistan by resettled families as well as some aluminum cookware available for purchase in the United States represent a previously unrecognized source of lead exposure. However, the extent to which this cookware represents a source of lead exposure to other United States residents is unclear.
Objectives: To test additional cookware for lead content and its propensity to leach lead and other toxic metals. This will further our understanding of the extent to which this cookware represents a lead poisoning risk in the United States and elsewhere.
Methods: We screened an additional 28 pieces of aluminum cookware and 5 brass items for lead content using an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer and used our leachate method to estimate the amount of lead that migrates into food. We also tested 17 additional stainless steel items to determine whether they would be safer alternatives.
Results: Many aluminum cookware products contained in excess of 100 parts per million (ppm) of lead. Many also leached enough lead under simulated cooking and storage conditions to exceed recommended dietary limits. One hindalium appam pan (an Indian frying pan/wok) leached sufficient lead to exceed the childhood limit by 1400-fold. Brass cookpots from India also yielded high lead levels, with one exceeding the childhood limit by over 1200-fold. In contrast, stainless steel cookware leached much lower levels of lead.
Impact: Aluminum and brass cookware available for purchase in the United States represents a previously unrecognized source of lead exposure.
期刊介绍:
Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology (JESEE) aims to be the premier and authoritative source of information on advances in exposure science for professionals in a wide range of environmental and public health disciplines.
JESEE publishes original peer-reviewed research presenting significant advances in exposure science and exposure analysis, including development and application of the latest technologies for measuring exposures, and innovative computational approaches for translating novel data streams to characterize and predict exposures. The types of papers published in the research section of JESEE are original research articles, translation studies, and correspondence. Reported results should further understanding of the relationship between environmental exposure and human health, describe evaluated novel exposure science tools, or demonstrate potential of exposure science to enable decisions and actions that promote and protect human health.