• they/them

ttrpg designer
trans / t4t / alloroace
(and not looking)
disabled / rat therian
partner of @Lark-in-ink
huge nerd since 1976
HRT since 1998
(art credit: @robinandcat)


JuniperTheory
@JuniperTheory

kate's parents love picking up weird shit while antiquing and sending it to us

today, while unpacking a box they sent us, i discovered... those cups from macdonalds that are just COVERED In poisonous amounts of lead paint and cadmium

this has lead to a disagreement

she says, lets put them up as decoration. we're not drinking out of them they'd be on a shelf somewhere that's fine

i say IT'S LEAD POISON JESUS LETS GET RID OF IT

what do y'all think


iamarat
@iamarat

OH MY GOD MY WHOLE FAMILY WAS DRINKING OUT OF THE GARFIELD COFFEE CUPS FOR DECADES

gods please tell me the lord of the rings goblets weren't like that, the pictures weren't colored in but now I'm having a heart attack


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in reply to @JuniperTheory's post:

Generally speaking, heavy metals in paints and things like uranium based pottery glazes are safe so long as they are completely free of cracks, chips, and other damage that can cause it to shed particles that you can breathe in or ingest.

So if they are completely pristine, they are safe to keep, but it's still an item you don't want to be handling too often or moving around, etc. So if you're not thrilled about having to take precautions around some (presumably pretty kitschy) collectibles, I'd get rid of them.

If they do have visible damage... there are ways afaik of rendering something like that safe enough to display but we're getting into doing museum restoration on mcdonald's memorabilia at that point.

I honestly would feel better about uranium glazed pottery than cheap mcdonalds cups with lead paint, just because the pottery glazes are way tougher and aren't going to abrade away just from being handled.

If I received these as a gift, I would probably keep them, but only after covering every inch with about four coats of clear varnish. After the second coat, I would place a sticker at the bottom of the cup (nothing fancy, sharpie on a mailing label, cut to fit) that says "CONTAINS LEAD AND CADMIUM, DO NO USE", which would then get sealed in by coats three and four. Up on a shelf, the sticker won't be visible, and if the narrative thread gets lost along the way, the sticker isn't going to leave any doubt.

That's just me after having lived in apartments with a history of lead paint that's been sealed away from current residents, though. If you don't feel like they can be neutralized to your satisfaction, best to figure out a responsible way to dispose of them.