A CT Scan Shows Where the Lead Is Located in Stanley Cups

A CT CAT scan of Stanley ’s viral Quencher loving cup has confirmed what the party has been saying all along : There ’s only lead at the bottom of the cup . The lead is breed by a unstained steel covert , which Stanley says makes it “ inaccessible to customer . ” In the end , though , lead exposure might come down to a matter of luck .

The team atLumafield , a computer hardware manufacturing fellowship that makes CT digital scanner , ran Stanley ’s Quencher tumbler pigeon through one of their machineslast week . While videos of positive resultant from at - home lead tests ( which expert admonish can be undependable ) have led to eternal venture over what parts of the cups have lead , Lumafield ’s CT scan show that there was only lead at the bottom of the Stanley Quencher .

The lead identified by Lumafield , which is distinguished by the dark crimson round on the CT scan , is the lead pellet used by Stanley to solder its cups . Stanley ’s tumbler cups have an inner and outer wall made of stainless blade that is welded together at the rim . Between those walls is a void of insulation , which is what minimizes heat transport and helps keep your beverage warm or cold .

The red dot in the CT scan represents the lead pellet used to seal the vacuum insulation layer in Stanley’s popular Quencher model.

The red dot in the CT scan represents the lead pellet used to seal the vacuum insulation layer in Stanley’s popular Quencher model.Image:Courtesy of Lumafield

Stanleysays it habituate a lead pelletto seal the vacuum insulation at the bottom of the cup . The troupe then covers the lead shot with a stainless steel disk , the same textile used for the rest of the tumbler .

So , what does this CT scan tell us ? First , it means that Stanley was n’t lying : There was only pencil lead at the bottom of the test cup . But that does n’t mean that mass with Stanley cups are completely safe from lead exposure , which can cause serious wellness problems for tiddler and adult .

“ [ O]ur CT cross - department shows that the jumper lead is entirely harbor , and its user wo n’t be expose to direct at all . If the medallion cross the lead solder is pried off , it might become approachable — but in that case , a replacement cup is covered by Stanley ’s guarantee , ” Jon Bruner , Lumafield ’s head of marketing , said in a post on X.

Stanley uses a lead pellet to create an insulation vacuum in its cups, which is what helps regulate the temperature of your beverage for long periods of time.

Stanley uses a lead pellet to create an insulation vacuum in its cups, which is what helps regulate the temperature of your beverage for long periods of time.Image:Courtesy of Lumafield

The keyword here is the medallion , or the untarnished steel disc cut across the lead . In other words , while the CT scan clearly show us where the spark advance in Stanley ’s cups is , it also showed us that the only affair protecting mass from picture is a minor metal disc that can theoretically fall off or become unsealed .

precede safety activist Tamara Rubintold Gizmodo in Februarythat she ’s receive hundreds of composition of people posit that their base crownwork has fallen off after normal use .

“ In the last distich of mean solar day alone , I ’ve had something like 300 people contact me and state me that that disc on the bottom of their Stanley ’s fell off within a hebdomad or a calendar month of normal use , ” Rubin said , adding that if the great unwashed touch on the lead shot inside their cups and then touch food , they could queer themselves to guide .

In this CT image, you can clearly see how the lead pellet acts as a solder for the insulation in Stanley cups.

In this CT image, you can clearly see how the lead pellet acts as a solder for the insulation in Stanley cups.Image:Courtesy of Lumafield

Stanley , for its part , state that the untainted brand cover coming off is“a rarified occurrent . ”

While experts saythere is no risk to using Stanley cupsthat are in utter condition , do you really need to take the peril ? There are passel of alternative cups , such as Stanley ’s lead competitor Hydro Flask , out there that do n’t contain lead . ( To be comely , Hydro Flask used lead in its cupsuntil it endow in perish lead - free . )

“ As consumer become more discreet about the products they bribe , the pressure sensation on fellowship to not compromise on safety or sustainability will only increase , ” Lumafieldwrote in a postabout its experimentation .

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