[Greenbuilding] Comment: "Call for probe into lead in reusable bags from China", by Carol Polsky, (Newsday 11/15/10)

[Carmine Vasile]

Gennaro, Reuben, Lawrence & Tedd:  China has lots of Nuclear waste, so it's not unreasonable to ask how much radioactive Lead-210 was found in the bag replaced by Wegmans that "was found to have more than 700 parts per million" because Lead has 4 stable and 86 radioactive isotopes. Lead-210 is one of the most deadly because it has a half life of 22.3 years and has been found in LI drinking water supplied by the SCWA, according to public well analyses linked to footnotes @ www.gfxtechnology.com/TOXFAQ.html.
   The EPA's drinking water MCL (Maximum Contaminant Level) for total Lead is 15 micrograms per liter of water, or ppb (parts per billion) -- 6,000 times less than the federal standard of 90 parts per million (ppm) for paint; 20,000 times less than the 300 ppm limit for toys. 
   The EPA's MCL for radioactive Lead-210 is about a billion times lower than that for non-radioactive Lead; 1.2 picocuries per liter. Contamination levels this small can only be detected by radioactivity measurements (usually given in Curies per liter) then dividing by Lead-210's specific activity of 88 Curies per gram. 
   Was this done for Wegmans' bags?
   If the Lead contained in these bags were dissolved in a liter of drinking water, just to meet the EPA MCL it would have to be diluted with about 46,000 liters of water (700,000/15); adjusted for the weight of each bag. (Irate’s Comment @ http://www.newsday.com/long-island/7.1599062?view=article#commentsForm-1599062 )
 
Carmine
www.gfxtechnology.com  		 	   		  
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