Toxics Watch Group Alerts FDA on Cosmetics Contaminated with Mercury and Lead
TOXIC FINDS: Lead-containing medicated cream with skin lightening effect (above) and 11 mercury-containing skin whitening creams.
A non-profit group tracking toxic chemicals in products
and wastes has notified the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about the
illegal sale of 12 unregistered cosmetics laden with poisonous chemicals.
Through a letter sent today, the EcoWaste Coalition urged
the FDA to put out a public health warning against the consumption of 11 skin
whitening creams containing high concentrations of mercury and one medicated
cream with skin lightening effect that is laden with lead.
“To inform and protect women consumers against the
harmful effects of mercury and lead in cosmetics, we urge the FDA to issue an
advisory against these dangerous skin whitening products and to cause their
immediate removal from the market,” said Thony Dizon, Chemical Safety
Campaigner, EcoWaste Coalition.
“Removing these products from store shelves will also
help in reducing mercury and lead in waste,” he added.
Among the products with mercury content above the trace
amount limit of 1 part per million (ppm) as per the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive
(ACD) were: Parley Whitening Cream, with 32,900 ppm; Ailkye Boost Luster
Superior Whitening , 31,100 ppm; Ailkye Perfection Salvation Rosy Whitening A +
B Set, 30,200 ppm; Aneeza Gold Beauty Cream, 21,600 ppm; Parley Beauty Cream, 18,300
ppm; Face Lift Whitening Beauty Cream, 17,000 ppm; Aneeza Saffron Whitening
Cream, 16,500 ppm; Zahra Beauty Cream, 9,780 ppm; Feique Lemon Whitening
Freckle-Removing Cream, 7,988 ppm; Meyyong (Seaweed) Super Whitening, 1,563
ppm; and RDL Whitening Treatment, 3,615
ppm.
Top Shirley Medicated Cream was found to contain 2,180 ppm of lead,
exceeding ACD’s limit of 20 ppm.
The products, procured by the EcoWaste Coalition for P60
to P500 each from retailers in Baclaran and Divisoria and from online dealers, were
screened for toxic metals using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer.
The products were mostly illegally imported from China,
Pakistan, Taiwan and Thailand.
Mercury and lead are toxic chemicals not permitted in
cosmetic product formulations under the ACD and are, in fact, included in the
list of “ten chemicals of major public health concern” of the World Health
Organization (WHO).
The Minamata Convention on Mercury, which the Philippines
signed in 2013 but has yet to ratify it, targets the phase-out by 2020 of
cosmetics, including skin lightening products, with mercury above 1 ppm.
The EcoWaste Coalition’s report “Beauty and the Risk,” published
in 2015 to support the country’s implementation and ratification of the
Minamata Convention, has confirmed the sale of mercury-added skin whitening
products in 50 cities all over the Philippines, underlining the need to halt the unlawful trade of such dangerous
cosmetics at an accelerated pace.
According to the WHO, “exposure to mercury – even in
small amounts – may cause serious health problems, and is a threat to the
development of the child in utero and early in life.” Mercury in skin lightening creams and soaps,
can damage the kidneys, and cause skin rashes, skin discoloration and scarring,
as well as reduce skin’s resistance to bacterial and fungal infections, the WHO
said.
“Young children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic
effects of lead and can suffer profound and permanent adverse health effects,
particularly affecting the development of the brain and nervous system,” the
WHO said.
According to the WHO, “lead also causes long-term harm in
adults, including increased risk of high blood pressure and kidney damage.
Exposure of pregnant women to high levels of lead can cause miscarriage,
stillbirth, premature birth and low birth weight.”
-end-
Reference:
http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/mercury_flyer.pdf
http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health
https://ipen.org/sites/default/files/documents/EcoWaste%20Coalition%20IMEAP%20report%20final.pdf
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