What’s in your materials? We tested a Brass Chalice for Lead, here’s what we found

As a gift for a friend, we bought a beautiful, brass chalice. As we browsed through online reviews, however, we noticed an alarming comment. One reviewer said they had performed a home lead test and gotten a positive result. These kits are known for false positives, especially when zinc is present (a major component of brass), so we were not sure what to think.

Fortunately, at Spark904, we have the ability to go beyond guesswork. We decided run an advanced analysis and get a definitive answer.

The chalice in question was marketed simply as “brass”. This alloy is usually made from copper and zinc, but historically, small amounts of lead were often added to improve machinability. Brass is therefore categorized as follows:

•   Lead-free brass: less than 0.25% lead
•   Lead-containing brass: 0.25% ─ 3% lead
•   High-lead brass: over 3% lead

European Union and national regulations primarily focus on how much lead leaches out of a material into food or drinking water, not simply on total composition. Under these directives, materials in contact with food or drink must result in less than 10 µg/L of lead migration.
Additionally, if a material contains more than 0.1% lead by weight, it must be labeled and classified as containing lead (per EU CLP Regulation). The chalice’s product page, however, made no such mention, so naturally, we assumed it was safe.

Unfortunately, assumptions don’t always hold up, so we decided to test it for ourselves.

To be sure, we tested the chalice using Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy. (For a deeper look at how EDX works and why it’s so versatile, check out our previous blog post.)
EDX is a fast, non-destructive method for detecting the elemental composition of a material. In this case, we could even simply just place the object directly into our machine. Within minutes, we had the answer:

This puts it squarely in the “high-lead” category. Not only was it not lead-free, but its lead content was well above levels that would trigger additional regulatory considerations.
We did not perform leaching tests, which would be required to evaluate whether the chalice would fail food-contact regulations. But given its high lead content, it’s likely that such tests would raise serious concerns. For the purposes of a personal gift, the result was enough:

We decided not to take the risk.

This was a small, personal example, but it illustrates a broader point. Whether you’re buying a gift or developing a new product, it’s important to verify what your materials contain, because you may be surprised by what you find.
At Spark904, we help companies (and occasionally curious individuals!) test and verify their materials using advanced analytical techniques like EDX spectroscopy.

If you’re unsure about the composition or compliance of a metal, polymer, or other material in your supply chain, don’t guess.

Get in touch with us — we’re happy to help you investigate it.