Lead-Loaded Eyeliner Tested in Malaysia Also Sold in the Philippines
24 October 2024, Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition raised the alarm over the sale in the Philippines of an eye area cosmetic made in Pakistan that was recently tested in Malaysia and found to contain shocking levels of lead, a poisonous chemical.
At a press conference held last October 22 in observance of the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week (ILPPW), the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) revealed that a sample of Hashmi Kohl Asmar contained 125,688 parts per million (ppm) lead as per laboratory analysis. Under the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive (ACD), lead as a heavy metal contaminant cannot exceed the maximum limit of 20 ppm.
Triggered by CAP’s toxic discovery, the EcoWaste Coalition went to Manila and Pasay Cities to look for similar eye cosmetics that could be contaminated with banned ingredients like lead.
Out of eight eye cosmetics imported from India and Pakistan, two products (Hashmi Kohl Asmar and Hashmi Surma Special) were found to contain over 100,000 ppm lead as per X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) screening conducted by the group. The manufacturing date (July 2023) and batch number (023) of the former are the same as the one tested by CAP.
Aside from lead, the two Hashmi products were also found contaminated with cadmium and arsenic way above the permissible levels of 5 ppm. The Hashmi Kohl Asmar contained 210 ppm cadmium and 6,290 ppm arsenic, while Hashmi Surma Special had 143 ppm cadmium and 4,010 ppm arsenic. The Hashmi eyeliners contain black powder in small gold plastic bottles with screw top and in blister packaging.
Arsenic, cadmium and lead are listed in Annex II Part I of the ACD, or the list of substances which must not form part of the composition of cosmetic products. These toxic metals are also included in the 48 priority chemicals that the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) "has determined to potentially pose unreasonable risk to public health, workplace and the environment."
This is not the first encounter of the EcoWaste Coalition with highly toxic Hashmi eyeliners. In fact, the group alerted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014 about the sale of these unauthorized eyeliners in the local market after monitoring the import alert by US FDA against eye area cosmetics containing kohl, kajal or surma. In 2018, the group again drew attention on Hashmi eyeliners after three children in Australia fell ill due to lead poisoning from using these toxic eyeliners.
In 2021, the group requested the FDA to issue a public health warning against the use of Hashmi eye area cosmetics containing arsenic, cadmium and lead, and to stop their sale offline and online.
A chain store in Paco, Manila that sells South Asian products voluntarily stopped the sale of Hashmi eyeliners in 2021 following receipt of health and safety information from the EcoWaste Coalition.
To date, the governments of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the USA have taken steps to protect their citizens from being harmed by lead and other harmful ingredients in Hashmi eyeliners.
“The risks associated with exposure to lead are especially serious for children,” the US FDA said. “Among the effects associated with high levels of lead exposure are anemia, kidney problems, and neurological damage that may include seizures, coma, and death.”
“Even at relatively low levels, chronic exposure to lead may lead to learning and behavior problems,” it said.
The US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has set a blood lead level of 5 micrograms per deciliter (µg/dL) in children as the reference level at which CDC recommends initiating public health actions.
The EcoWaste Coalition and CAP are participating organizations of the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) and are actively engaged in public information and policy advocacy efforts on chemicals of concern like lead and other hazardous substances and products, including lead-containing paints.
References:
https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/
https://www.canada.ca/en/
https://ec.europa.eu/safety-
https://ec.europa.eu/safety-
https://ec.europa.eu/safety-
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