Even though the U.S. Consumer and Product Safety Commission issued a last ban on the use of lead in paints in 1977, that ban did not consist of lead in ceramic glazes. Although many American potteries no longer use lead in their glazes, if you don’t have verified with the manufacturer that your piece was made with no lead, avoid using glazed glass or ceramic coffee mugs that are from unknown or unidentified sources. Especially avoid using outdated, chipped or brightly colored traditional mugs imported from foreign countries to avoid extra lead contamination.

Dangers of Lead Poisoning

The dangers of lead poisoning include [symptoms](https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2584/) such as irritability and fatigue, impaired concentration, hearing loss, seizures and side effects. Excessive amounts of lead can also cause reproduction problems such as stillbirths, miscarriages and abnormal sperm. In children, lead poisoning symptoms might not be familiar, but when they are exposed to lead in sufficient quantities, children endure neurological disabilities, learning disabilities, lower IQ scores, nervous system disorders and more. Lead causes severe health problems in both adults and children; the only means to determine lead poisoning is by a blood test.

Test the Blood for Lead

If you or your child has eaten or drunk from red-orange pottery with brightly colored layouts or from mugs covered using traditional artwork imported from foreign countries or small artisans, it’s likely you’ve been exposed to direct. While the regular environment does contribute to lead in the blood circulation, when it’s ingested from cracked or cracked coffee mugs covered with a result, it leads to higher concentrations of lead in the blood. The quantity of lead in the bloodstream for adults should be significantly less than 20 micrograms per deciliter of blood and less than 5 micrograms per deciliter, reports the U.S. National Library of Medicine and National Institutes for Health.

Imported Pottery

Several Mexico potteries and producers have changed to lead-free glazes, but unless they’ve been using new or completely cleaned-out kilns, the glazes and direct inside the kiln can still wind up on coffee mugs and dinnerware. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration strongly recommends against using dinnerware, pitchers and cups imported from Mexico for over ornamental purposes. After receiving reports of high amounts of lead in pottery labeled “lead-free,” state and local health departments have found lead in these types of glazes, in doses considerably higher than FDA-recommended standards.

Old Porcelain and Bone China

Although the majority of the lead in glazes can be located in earthenware and stoneware items — typically highly decorated or traditional and colorful pottery sourced from [Mexico, India, China, the Middle East, Latin America](http://www.cdph.ca.gov/programs/CLPPB/Documents/CLPPB-potterybroch\%28E\%29.pdf) along with other foreign countries, it’s also located in antique and vintage porcelain and bone china items produced long before the risks of lead were understood. Lead can leach into mugs when acidic drinks are used when you heat the coffee mug in the fridge or because of lip or rim release when sipping. This becomes more pronounced when ceramic mugs have been cracked, old, worn or so the glaze is cracked. California’s Proposition 65 comprises addenda that refer to certain colors and minerals in glazes together with the tagged warnings required along with the national standards.

See related