EcoWaste Coalition: Rizaleños at Risk of Mercury Exposure Due to Contraband Skin Lightening Products
30 August 2024, Quezon City. Some Rizaleños are unknowingly exposing themselves and their families to mercury, a toxic chemical, by applying skin lightening products with high concentrations of this strictly prohibited ingredient in cosmetics.
The environmental and health watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition made this comment following the conclusion of its latest market monitoring in Rizal Province targeting beauty product stores peddling forbidden mercury cosmetics.
During the monitoring it conducted from August 24 to 28, the EcoWaste Coalition found 28 stores in the province selling smuggled facial creams that have been banned by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for containing mercury above the maximum limit of one part per million (ppm) and for not having the required certificates of product notification.
This will bring to 322 the number of errant stores monitored by the group from January 2023 to August 2024, including 198 in the National Capital Region, 57 in Central Visayas Region, 49 in Calabarzon Region, 10 in Cordillera Administrative Region, five in Northern Mindanao Region, and three in Mimaropa Region.
“Our latest findings reinforce our proposal for a solution focused summit to address this long drawn out problem with mercury cosmetics, which can put users and their households at risk of toxic exposure,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition. Last August 15, the group wrote to the FDA to propose a summit where stakeholders can “forge an agreement towards a whole-of-society approach to stop the persistent trade of mercury cosmetics,” and “develop solutions and actions on various fronts to disable and bring an end to the unlawful trade of mercury cosmetics.”
Antipolo City, capital of Rizal Province, topped the list with nine stores selling Goree Beauty Cream from Pakistan (two of its variants were banned in 2017 and the third one was banned in 2023) and 88 Total White Underarm Cream from Thailand (banned in 2021). Six stores in Cainta, four in Montalban, three in Taytay, two each in Angono and Tanay, and one each in Baras and San Mateo also sell these contaminated cosmetics. On the other hand, stores visited in the towns of Binangonan, Cardona and Teresa were not found selling these products.
A beauty product store in Angono stood out for also offering three other FDA-banned products aside from Goree and 88 Total White, namely, JJJ Magic Spots Removing Cream (banned in 2010), S’Zitang 10-Day Whitening & Spot Day Night Set (banned in 2015), and Women of Flower Whitening and Speckle Removing A & B Series (banned in 2015).
To check how much mercury these forbidden products contain, the EcoWaste Coalition paid for some products and had them screened for mercury using a portable X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) analyzer. According to the XRF screening results:
- Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene purchased from a store located a few steps away from the Antipolo City Hall contained 27,220 ppm of mercury (intriguingly, the receipt given by the vendor was for a store based in Cagayan de Oro City);
- Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream acquired from a seller at Sta. Lucia Mall in Cainta had 25,470 ppm of mercury;
- Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream obtained from a pharmacy in Taytay selling branded and generic medicines had 25,310 ppm of mercury;
- 88 Total White Underarm Cream sold by a dealer at Montalban Town Center had 2,623 ppm of mercury; and
- Women of Flower Whitening and Speckle Removing A & B Series contained 2,471 ppm (day) and 1,580 ppm (night), JJJ Magic Spots Removing Cream had 1,302 ppm (day) and 994 ppm (night), and S’Zitang 10-Day Whitening & Spot Day Night Set had 329 ppm (day) and 427 ppm (night) of mercury --- all three were procured from a vendor in Angono.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mercury is among the 10 chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern. As explained by the WHO, mercury use in skin lightening products can lead to adverse health effects, including skin rashes, discoloration and scarring and reduced dermal resistance to bacterial and fungal skin infections. The WHO has also warned that repeated applications of such products onto the skin can cause damage to the kidneys, the brain and the central nervous system.
The EcoWaste Coalition will appeal to concerned provincial, city and municipal authorities to take immediate action, in coordination with FDA Region IV-A, to protect their constituents and the environment from mercury contamination.
Reference:
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-
https://www.fda.gov.ph/wp-
https://www.who.int/
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