Groups tell Davao execs: Punish mercury-laden cosmetics sellers

DAVAO CITY—Environment and consumer protection groups are calling on authorities to penalize dealers that continue to sell skin-whitening products that contain mercury and seize these products.

Thony Dizon, coordinator of EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect, said the products are sold openly in the city.

EcoWaste and the Davao City-based Interface Development Interventions (Idis), another nongovernment organization, said the products, which had been banned for containing mercury, a highly toxic chemical, are still being sold in cosmetics and herbal product stores here.

The groups got samples of the banned products and said these are still being sold by retailers at the DCLA Shopping Center and at Plaza Luisita for P50 to P150 each.

Among the banned products that are still being sold in the city are Bihuayn, Erna, Jiaoli, S’zitang and Yinni skin-whitening creams, which were found to contain mercury levels of up to 5,445 parts per million (ppm), way above the allowable mercury content limit of 1 ppm.

Aside from S’zitang, another brand, Yinni Green Tea Quick-acting Whitener and Speckle Remover Package, was found to have mercury levels of up to 5,085 ppm. A jar of S’zitang skin-whitening cream had 4,899 ppm of mercury.

EcoWaste warned that exposure to mercury, even in low doses, may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive, immune, respiratory and urinary systems, and may even damage the skin. It also stunts the growth of infants and children.

Ann Fuertes, Idis executive director, said the products are still available despite an inspection conducted by the city healthy office and the regional office of the Food and Drug Administration.

“The continued sale of banned mercury-laden skin-whitening products is a serious threat to public health and should stop at once,” she said.

“Cosmetics retailers should offer only registered products that are safe,” she added.

The groups warned that users of mercury-laced skin whitening cosmetics may experience skin discoloration, rashes and scarring, and reduced skin resistance to bacterial and fungal infections.

Repeated application can cause damage to the brain, the nervous system and the kidneys.

Mercury compounds in skin-whitening cosmetics can enter the human body mainly through pores in the skin or by inhalation.

The World Health Organization has listed mercury as one of 10 chemicals of major public health concern, describing it as highly toxic. “Exposure to mercury, even at very low doses, is detrimental to health and should be avoided,” Fuertes said. Germelina Lacorte, Inquirer Mindanao