To help the environment, many Americans have made the change from paper and plastic bags to reusable grocery bags. But a report by a Florida newspaper says that reusable grocery bags sold by some supermarkets contain high levels of lead . Lead is a metal that can be harmful to humans, especially young children. Now, Senator Charles Schumer is asking the US government to investigate  the use of lead in reusable shopping bags. "When our families go to the grocery store looking for safe and healthy foods to feed their kids, the last thing they should have to worry about is poisonous bags." Schumer said, "A quick investigation will allow everyone to make informed, timely decisions." Schumer added. Lead in the bags is not likely to rub off on food. But over time, paint on the bags can chip and the bags can wear out. When this happens, lead can be released . The Tampa Tribune newspaper said certain bags sold at Publix and Winn-Dixie supermarkets had lead levels that were a concern  to health officials. The affected bags were found in Florida. But Publix has more than 1,000 stores in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Sough Carolina and Tennessee. Publix says that all of its bags are under current laws about lead content, but that they have asked the makers of the bags to reduce the lead levels in the product. The bags with the highest levels of lead had fancy designs and many pictures. Plain reusable bags without decoration were found to contain little lead. Consumers worried about lead levels in reusable bags can change to cloth or string bags. Paper bags are also a good choice, since paper can be recycled . Since 2007, Publix supermarkets have sold more than 13 million reusable bags. The store says because shoppers have made the change to reusable bags, it has saved more than 1 billion paper and plastics bags. Customers are advised to choose bags   _  .
with colorful designs with fancy pictures made of plastic made of paper