WASHINGTON, DC —  Tests of reusable grocery bags in Florida found that some plastic bags contain more lead than will be allowed in kid's toys. Coupled with previous cases of lead found in bags, the federal government is being called on to investigate and ban lead in bags.

The Tampa Tribune commissioned tests of bags from the Winn-Dixie and Publix grocery chains, finding both companies' bags had more than 100 parts per million (ppm) of lead, the federal limit for the chemical in kid's toys starting in August. The amount of lead also exceeds the federal limit for paint on consumer products.

The tests, conducted by Thornton Laboratories, found that bags with elaborate illustrations, particularly with yellow and green colors, were more likely to contain lead. A nylon bag from Target, and bags with simple illustrations from Sweetbay, Walmart and Publix, were found to contain little lead.

The presence of lead, though, does not present an immediate danger. The Tampa Tribune reports:

The lead appears to be in a form that is not easily extracted or leached, [Hugh] Rodrigues [owner of Thornton Laboratories] said. It is not in a form that would rub off on food simply by touching the bag, like wet paint, he said, but over time, bags wear down and paint can flake off and threads can fray, releasing the lead.

All of the bags with high lead levels were made in China, which has been at the center of other cases involving chemicals in products. 

The 1.7 million RC2 Corp. toys and the 2 million Mattel toys that were recalled in 2007 over high lead content came from Chinese manufacturers, 21 percent of toys that the Ecology Center found had significant levels of hazardous chemicals in 2008 came from China, and once lead became a high-profile matter, Chinese companies started switching to cadmium, which also poses dangers when in consumer goods.

Publix has so far asked its suppliers to lower the lead content in their bags, and both Publix and Winn-Dixie are offering refunds to customers.

Earlier this year, bags from Wegmans grocery stores were found to contain up to 799 ppm of lead, and the company stopped selling the two styles with excessive lead content.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer has called for the government to step in, and is urging the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and Consumer Product Safety Commission to look into the issue and ban reusable bags with lead above federal limits.

The matter has put others on the defense, with Envirosax issuing a statement explaining its polyester bags are lead-free and tested down to the 10 ppm level.

_{Reusable bags - CC license by Flickr user tyger_lyllie}