Plastic reusable shopping bags are petroleum-derived and may contain other contaminants, including lead, especially if they feature ornate designs or patterns. The safe bet is to use cloth bags, like the one pictured here from Eco Bags, because they are free of lead, they last for years, and they are easy to wash. Credit: Eco Bags

Plastic reusable shopping bags are petroleum-derived and may contain other contaminants, including lead, especially if they feature ornate designs or patterns. The safe bet is to use cloth bags, like the one pictured here from Eco Bags, because they are free of lead, they last for years, and they are easy to wash. Credit: Eco Bags

Plastic reusable shopping bags are petroleum-derived and may contain other contaminants, including lead, especially if they feature ornate designs or patterns. The safe bet is to use cloth bags, like the one pictured here from Eco Bags, because they are free of lead, they last for years, and they are easy to wash.
  • Eco Bags
  • Plastic reusable shopping bags are petroleum-derived and may contain other contaminants, including lead, especially if they feature ornate designs or patterns. The safe bet is to use cloth bags, like the one pictured here from Eco Bags, because they are free of lead, they last for years, and they are easy to wash.

Courtesy of: EarthTalk®
E — The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: I heard that some reusable bags contain lead. Is this a major health concern? Can’t these bags be made to avoid such contamination? — Donald Young, Cincinnati, OH

It’s true that some reusable shopping bags for sale in U.S. stores have been shown to contain lead, a neurotoxin linked to developmental, brain and kidney problems. The non-profit Center for Environmental Health (CEH) found that about 10 percent of the reusable bags it tested last year contained at least minute levels of lead, with Disney’s “Toy Story” and “Cars” plastic reusable shopping bags topping the charts with excessive levels to the tune of 15 times the federal limit for lead in children’s products.

This article appears in Jun 9-15, 2011.