Reusable Shopping Bags May Contain Lead

(CANVAS STAFF REPORTS) - Reusable, environmentally-friendly grocery bags may actually be doing more harm than good.

An investigative series by The Tampa Tribune found toxic, dangerously high levels of lead in synthetic, reusable bags purchased at several stores in the Bay area.

The New York Times reported that Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, on Sunday sent a letter to the Food and Drug Administration, urging the agency to investigate the issue.

High lead levels pose a danger to the country's food supply because the bags are being used to carry food, Schumer said in a letter addressed to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg.

Lead exposure has been linked to learning disabilities in children and fertility problems in adults.

Environmentally conscious shoppers have been choosing reusable bags as a more ecologically responsible alternative to paper or plastic bags. But recent investigations have found that the bags can also breed bacteria and cause illness.

This fall the Tampa Tribune purchased two-dozen reusable bags from the largest grocery companies in the Bay area and sent them to a local laboratory for testing.

The Tampa Tribune found that certain bags had more lead than the Environmental Protection Agency would find acceptable to be disposed in landfill

According to the Tampa Tribune, the lead levels of reusable bags were not all equal. The newspaper reported that the more elaborate the illustrations on the bags, the more likely they are to contain toxins, while yellow and green paint on bags is a common carrier of lead.

Hugh Rodrigues, president of Thornton Laboratories in Tampa, which tested the bags, told the Tampa Tribune that the lead likely won't rub off on food, but it could cause environmental damage as the bags break down over time.