Mercury in skin care products

If you want to buy skin-whitening cream online, especially those advertised to have been imported, think twice.

Because a new global study has found presence of high level of poisonous mercury in the cream, posing a risk to human health.

The study, titled “Dangerous, Mercury-leaden and Often Illegal Skin Lightening Products: Readily Available for Online Purchase,” tested 16 samples of imported skin-whitening creams at two international labs and found all of those had high mercury level than the permissible level set by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI).

All the 16 products had mercury levels ranging from 49 parts per million (ppm) to 129,433 ppm, much higher than the local permissible level set by the BSTI, the report says. 

In 2015, the BSTI set a standard for skin cream allowing a maximum 1ppm of mercury concentration. 

Zero Mercury Working Group (ZMWG), an international coalition of more than 110 environmental and health NGOs from over 55 countries, conducted the study in October. 

Environment and Social Development Organisation (ESDO), a Bangladeshi organisation, revealed the study report on behalf of the ZMWG recently. 

The ZMWG was formed in 2005 by the European Environmental Bureau and the Mercury Policy Project.

“These hazardous products pose a serious mercury exposure risk, especially to repeat users and their children,” said Shahriar Hossain, ESDO secretary general.

Of the 16 samples, nine were imported from Pakistan, three from Thailand, two from China, and one from Malaysia. The rest one’s origin was not mentioned in the report.

Samples of six whitening creams were collected from an online shopping site. The rest were from a new supermarket in Dhaka. 

All the 16 samples were analysed at Biodiversity Research Institute’s laboratory in the US and Arnika Laboratory in the Czech Republic.

Abul Hashem, former chairman of BSTI chemical division, told The Daily Star that mercury in beauty products was a carcinogenic substance, and the consequences of mercury in skin-whitening creams were dreadful.

“We have to be more aware of it. If we use mercury-added products for a long time, then it will adversely impact on our health. So, consumer awareness is very essential. Only enforcement of law is not enough,” he said. 

“We can take action if anyone imports any mercury-added product, which is beyond our permissible level. But if people bring the products by illegal means, then how will we act? There is no monitoring on online sales of products. We don’t know who is selling what,” said BSTI Assistant Director SM Abu Sayed.

He said there should be some sort of mechanism on monitoring the quality of products available online, and for this all have to work together. 

The 16 samples were among 95 skin-lightening products bought in 12 countries. They contained banned mercury -- a heavy metal and dangerous neurotoxin, says the study. Testing found mercury levels ranged from 40ppm to over 130,000ppm.

More than two thirds of the creams -- 65 out of 95 -- were bought online.