NEW YORK — Metal tissue holders contaminated with low levels of radioactive material may have been distributed to Bed, Bath & Beyond stores in more than 20 states including New York, federal regulators said Thursday.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission spokesman David McIntyre said the home products company had pulled the tissue holder from its stores.

He said there is little to no risk to human health — but it’s better to avoid unnecessary exposure to radiation.

“If someone has one of these, they could receive a small radiation dose from it,” he said. For example, he said someone keeping one of the boxes on a vanity in the bathroom and spending about 30 minutes a day near it for a year would receive the equivalent of a couple of X-rays.

“There’s no real health threat from these, but we advise people to return them,” he said.

Bed, Bath & Beyond said in a statement Thursday that its Dual Ridge Metal boutique tissue holder has been carried in about 200 of its stores since July. It said it was recalling all of the tissue holders and asking any customers who bought them to return them for a full refund.

McIntyre said the company had received shipments of the tissue holders in July, August and December, but that only the December one — which contained 220 of the boxes — was determined to have contaminated products. He said the company is still trying to determine whether the other shipments had contaminated products.