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The greenies have been telling us that paper or plastic grocery bags are evil and we must begin eliminate them in favor or reusable bags, but as always there are unintended consequences to going green : Lead found in some reusable grocery bags is raising concerns that the toxin could pose environmental or health concerns to consumers. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., is asking for a federal investigation into the reusable bags following a series by The Tampa Tribune. The newspaper found lead in bags purchased at Winn-Dixie, Publix, Sweetbay, Walmart and Target. Reusable bags are often sold by retailers and used by consumers instead of plastic bags. They may be canvas or made of recycled plastic. In some areas, consumers are charged a fee if they use a plastic bag from a store. The concern is that lead in bags could cause environmental problems in landfills or leach into food products that are kept in them. “Federal agencies need to put a ban in place for reusable bags that have lead in them,” Schumer said in a statement. In a letter asking the Food and Drug Administration to open an investigation into the issue, he says, “Any situation where lead bags are coming into contact with the food being purchased by Americans needs to be immediately investigated and resolved.” And lead is not the biggest risk in reusable bags. The biggest risk is bacteria that gets into the fabric from leaking meats and such. You can get a real bacterial frappé going in those bags after just one trip to the store. So if you’re careful you end up washing the bags, which takes soaps and water and energy, thus pretty much negating the benefit to Mother Gaia from your reusable bags. And my own city has started giving out free reusable bags to “reduce our carbon footprint”.