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One does not need to work with glass to know about it or the different types and uses of glass yeame. Standard plate glass is not leaded glass, it is that simple.
The roman empire fell for many reasons and that is far beyond the scope of this thread or the subject at hand. The debate certainly exisits, but there is also a LOT of proof that the romans were VERY aware of lead poisoning and took many precautions against it. There is also a lot of nonsense about the subject that is propogated in arenas just like this. We can leave it at that.
Gloves? No I do not put gloves on before I touch glass. I have spent many an hour with a beer bottle in my hand with no gloves.
You will absorb more lead from the food you eat and the water you drink than you will from licking your leaded crystal.
Many types of ceramic glazes are high in lead content. For that matter many of the original fiestware colors were also fairly radioactive. In some cases (by the account of some researchers) enough to give frequent tea drinkers lip cancer. Be more concerned about your china made pasts dish and dollar store coffee mugs.
Secondly, all glass (for the most part) has iron in it. The iron is in the form of iron oxide found in the sand used to make the glass. "Starfire" is a brand name of "LOW IRON" glass that has undergone several extra steps to remove the impurities in the silica used to make the glass. None of it is "Iron based" and the good stuff has less iron than normal window glass.
I can provide you with many sources for information if you want it. A good start would be the wikapedia... or the glass councils website. A google search for "roman lead poisoning" will yield a months worth of reading, much of it with references.
Bean
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