Lead levels in the exterior and interior of seventeenth and eighteenth-century Chinese export ceramics were tested. A steeped water technique was used to examine the interior. XRF standard testing was used for the exterior. The results indicated that lead was present in some of the teapots. This suggests that some tea ingested during this early period was laced with lead, thereby countering the contemporary belief that drinking tea in that time period was preferable to other alternatives.
Part of the book: Latest Research in Contaminants of Emerging Concern