Connection to Histor y
Sugar of Lead
I
n ancient Roman society it was common to boil
wine in a leadlined vessel, driving off much of the
water to produce a very sweet, viscous syrup called
sapa. This syrup was often used as a sweetener for
many types of food and drink.
We now realize that a major component of this
syrup was lead acetate, Pb(C2H3O2)2. This compound has a very sweet taste—hence its original
name, sugar of lead.
Many historians believe that the fall of the Roman Empire was due at least in part to lead poisoning, which causes lethargy and mental malfunctions. One major source of this lead was the
sapa syrup. In addition, the Romans’ highly advanced plumbing system employed lead water
pipes, which allowed lead to be leached into their
drinking water.
Sadly, this story is more relevant to today’s society than you might think. Lead-based solder was
widely used for many years to connect the copper
pipes in water systems in homes and commercial
buildings. There is evidence that dangerous
amounts of lead can be leached from these soldered
joints into drinking water. In fact, large quantities
An ancient painting showing Romans drinking wine.
of lead have been found in the water that some
drinking fountains and water coolers dispense. In
response to these problems, the U.S. Congress has
passed a law banning lead from the solder used in
plumbing systems for drinking water.