Toxic Metals Found in Shop Towels

When Gradient analyzed laundered shop towels in 2003, they found that an unacceptable amount of lead, cadmium and antimony¹ can be ingested by workers who use just 2.5 towels per day.

A 2011 Gradient study found that "clean" shop towels sampled from 26 different industrial sites were significantly more contaminated with heavy metals than in 2003.

More heavy metals found

The laundered shop towels tested in the 2011 study by Gradient contained 7 heavy metals that exceeded health-based toxicity limits: antimony, beryllium, cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead and molybdenum.

Higher concentrations of heavy metals

The new study also showed that the concentration of 6 heavy metals were significantly higher than the original study: aluminum, barium, calcium, copper, lead, magnesium and sodium.

Increased towel use = increased exposure

The 2011 study found that workers report using an average of 12 towels per day - and may use up to 26 towels per day. The higher the number of towels used, the higher the worker exposure to the metals found in the towels.

• 1. Exceeding limits recommended by public health agencies.