NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. -- You could be handling cocaine every day and not even know it.
A study by researchers out of the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth found as much as 90 percent of U.S. currency is contaminated with cocaine.
Researchers analyzed bank notes from five different countries and several cities within the United States.
The study found the United States and Canada had the highest contamination levels and that bills from larger cities tended to have the most cocaine residue.
They said the amount of cocaine ranged in size from several thousand times smaller than a grain of sand to as much as 50 grains of sand per bill.
Researchers said it was not high enough to cause health or legal concerns so no "money laundering" was not needed.
Using money during drug deals or as a way to inhale cocaine likely is behind the cash contamination.
The cocaine is spread when cash is processed in currency counting machines at the bank.
Experts said the numbers were 20 percent higher than those found during a similar study two years ago.
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