This Stanley Cup X-ray shows where the lead is

The Stanley cup—darling of Goal consumers, Utah mothers, and millennials in every single place—has been lauded on-line for greater than a yr after a brand new advertising and marketing technique propelled the model from a dated workman’s gear supplier to an influencer-driven hit. However, this January, a number of TikTokers started posting about their 40-ounce Stanley Quenchers testing constructive for prime ranges of lead, placing a dent within the water bottle big’s fame.

In a statement to At the moment.com, a Stanley spokesperson clarified that, whereas a small quantity of lead is used within the cup’s manufacturing course of, “no lead is current on the floor of any Stanley product that comes into contact with the buyer nor the contents of the product.” Additional, they famous that the one method to entry the lead could be if a chrome steel medallion on the underside of the cup popped off—a potential however “uncommon” prevalence.  

Now, an industrial CT-scanning firm has put Stanley’s claims to the take a look at. 

The corporate, Lumafield, used an X-ray CT scanner referred to as Neptune to see under the Quencher’s floor. Neptune creates 3D fashions which can be color-coded by materials density and could be sliced to view inside cross-sections, permitting producers to get a better look inside their prototypes. However the tech can be helpful for understanding merchandise which can be already available on the market; previously, Lumafield has scanned Heinz’s $1.2 million ketchup cap, Apple’s Thunderbolt cable, even a plain previous soccer. 

Lumafield’s new scans of the Stanley Quencher present an in depth view of how the beloved tumbler is made. The pictures function internal and outer stainless-steel partitions separated by a vacuum that helps the liquid inside keep ice-cold. To create a sealed unit, the partitions get welded collectively on the rim. The cup is positioned in a vacuum chamber, and to create the empty area, the air contained in the cup will get eliminated via a small gap. Then, producers want a method to seal the hole. That’s the place the lead is available in. 

Within the Neptune scans, a small pink dot is seen on the backside of the Quencher. That is the lead pellet that seals the cup’s vacuum, and it seems in a darkish maroon hue due to its excessive density (lead is considerably denser than stainless-steel and plastic, the cup’s important parts). The lead is totally shielded from the precise inside of the cup by the vacuum and second metal layer, and the metal medallion covers it on the outside, that means that the lead gained’t contact your drink or your hand. 

In line with Lumafield product lead Jon Bruner, it’s potential to seal cups like these with out lead. In actual fact, firms together with Owala, Klean Kanteen, and Hydro Flask are all lead-free. However there are just a few explanation why Stanley may need chosen to make use of the fabric. 

“[One alternative is] lead-free solder, which is often an alloy of a number of metals and perhaps some proprietary components right here and there. It’s a lot trickier to make use of in an industrial course of than leaded solder,” Bruner says. “Leaded solder melts at a really particular level, it flows properly and bonds properly to the supplies round it. Lead-free solder tends to soften over a spread of temperatures, so it’s tough to dial it in.”

Sticking with the tried-and-true could be simpler to manage, however does this lead-pellet technique make Stanley cups unsafe? The reply is nearly undoubtedly no. “The scan means that the cups will not be a threat to customers at a excessive stage,” Bruner says. He provides that, even when the medallion had been to return indifferent, a passing contact with lead solder isn’t one thing that will have “a big effect in your well being.” If that does occur, Stanley will substitute the faulty merchandise beneath the product’s lifetime guarantee.

Though the common shopper could be assured that their Quencher doesn’t pose a well being threat, it stays a thriller why many TikTokers’ bottles appeared to check constructive for lead—however Bruner has some theories. 

“I believe there are just a few various explanations,” he says. “One is that these take-home lead assessments have a fairly excessive false-positive price, so you could possibly swab a bunch of issues that don’t have lead and a sure quantity will flip up constructive. One other could be that there’s lead of their ingesting water, and after placing water of their cup, there’s a hint of lead within the cup. And one other could be that perhaps they pried the medallion off their cup so as to make a viral video.”