The problem of lead in mexican pottery.
Much public attention has been focused in the United States on utilitarian Mexican pottery as a source of lead poisoning. Our work demonstrates that, if a firing temperature of at least 1150 degrees is used, lead-glazed earthenware is made safe for the storage and preparation of foods. Examination by d.c. arc emission spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction shows that the lead then remains in crystalline form. An exchange-equilibrium for lead between solutions and earthenware material is postulated.
Spielholtz
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Department of Chemistry, Herbert H. Lehman College, Bronx, New York 10468, U.S.A.
Kaplan
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FS