How Worried Should We Texans Be About the Lead in Our Popular Stanley Cups?

You may have seen someone on social media in Houston, TX, share a post about there being lead in these trendy new Stanley Cups. Is it true? How much should you be worried about it?

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Below is one of the posts that I've seen. This particular one had already been shared nearly 130K times by the time I put it in this story. You know I love vague social media posts making wild claims that are attributed to absolutely no one, right? They are the best.

I didn't realize the popularity of this cups till Christmas time, everyone has one now. My wife and daughter both use theirs daily. So are they safe to be used?

TODAY did a story on Stanley Cups, whether they contain lead, and are they dangerous to use. It turns out that they do contain lead.

On the bottom of each quencher made by the beverage container powerhouse is a circular barrier made of stainless steel, which covers a pellet that contains lead, a spokesperson for Stanley explains. The pellet seals the product's vacuum insulation, and it is not accessible unless the stainless steel barrier comes off — which is possible but “rare,” the Stanley spokesperson notes.

"Rest assured that no lead is present on the surface of any Stanley product that comes into contact with the consumer nor the contents of the product," the statement notes.

“Our engineering and supply chain teams are making progress on innovative, alternative materials for use in the sealing process,” the spokesperson adds.

Bottom line is Stanley does use lead in its manufacturing process. But according to them the cups "only pose a risk of lead exposure if the cover on the bottom of the tumbler comes off and exposes the pellet used to seal the cup's vacuum insulation."

The answer is YES, there is lead. The company spokesperson says the chance of being poisoned but the possibility would be rare. So the decision is yours. You can read more from TODAY about this story right here.