Heavy Metals Found in Many Cosmetics: Not Listed on Labels
Is your make-up safe?In light of recent news that the FDA found lead in 400 brands of lipstick, Yahoo! Shine took a look at other products containing potentially hazardous ingredients. Historically, women have risked their health for beauty by usingcosmetics laden with poisons. It's reported thatQueen Elizabeth's face became so disfiguredfrom lead-contaminated makeup, she had all the mirrors in her palace removed. In 18th century France, courtesans applied vermilion rouge, which contained sulfur and mercury, and suffered damage to their teeth, livers, and nervous systems as a result. While the levels are much lower, according to a 2011 report byEnvironmental Defense, an Ontario-based research group, dangerous heavy metals still lurk in lip gloss, mascara, foundation, blush, eye shadow, and eyeliner.The researchers tested a total of 49 common products selected from the cosmetic bags of six average Canadian women. They found that every product contained at least one of seven heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium, lead, nickel, beryllium, thallium, and selenium. Lead, a known neurotoxin, showed up in 96% of the items. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advises that lead exposure is not safe at any level. Heavy metals are considered a by-product of manufacturing and it's worth noting that none were listed in the ingredients lists on the cosmetics' labels.
There is scientific debate about safe levels of heavy metals in the body. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, which pushed for the FDA's recent scrutiny of lipstick, points out that, "Individual exposures to these metals in small amounts are unlikely to cause harm, but heavy metals can build up in the body over time and may increase risk for a variety of health problems." The U.S. Department of Labor links arsenic to stomach pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and cancer of the bladder, lungs, skin, kidney, nasal passages, liver, and prostate.
The report notes that the highest levels of arsenic, cadmium, and lead overall were found in lip gloss, which can be ingested orally. Of the items tested, Benefit Benetint lip gloss contained the highest level of lead at 110 parts per millions (ppm), which is more than 10 times higher than the limit set by theHealth Canada Draft Guidance on Heavy Metal Impurities in Cosmetics.
Of the 49 tested, these items were found to have the highest levels of impurities:
Clinique Stay True Makeup foundation (Stay Ivory) — arsenic, cadmium, beryllium, lead, nickel, thallium
Sephora Sculpting Powder Trio eye shadow (Brown and Pink) — beryllium, lead, nickel, thallium
MAC Sheerton Shimmer Blush (Springsheen) — beryllium, lead, nickel, thallium
L'Oreal Bare Naturale mascara (Black/Brown) — arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, lead, nickel, thallium
Cover Girl Perfect Point Plus eyeliner (Black Onyx) — beryllium, cadmium, lead, nickel
Almay Intense i-color Trio eye color (Trio for Blues, Brown and Dark Grey) — beryllium, cadmium, lead, nickel, selenium
Benefit Benetint Pocket Pal (Red Tint and Clear Gloss) — arsenic, beryllium, cadmium, lead, nickel, selenium, thallium
Cost is no indicator that a product contains lower levels of heavy metals. Erin Charter, one of the women whose cosmetics were tested, commented, "The product [Benefit Benetint lip gloss] I spend the most money on, because I thought it was better for me, ended up being the worst out of anything tested!"
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics supports passage of the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011, which was designed to give the FDA authority to ensure that personal care products are free of harmful ingredients. It also mandates that contaminants, such as heavy metals, be fully disclosed. In the meantime, you can check your favorite makeup on the Environmental Working Group's user-friendly, searchable database that rates the safety of thousands of cosmetics and other personal care products.
Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/green/heavy-metals-found-many-cosmetics-not-listed-labels-194900866.html
Arsenic Found in Brown Rice Syrup, Organic Foods, Baby Formulas
Some organic baby formulas made with brown rice syrup have been found to have high levels of arsenic, researchers …A sweetener used in powdered baby formulaand some organic and gluten-free foods may contain dangerously high levels of arsenic,researchers reported today.Environmental chemist Brian P. Jackson, who is the director of the Trace Element Analysis Core Facility at Dartmouth University, said that his team found organic baby formula whose main ingredient was brown rice syrup had arsenic levels six times higher than what the EPA considers safe for drinking water. According to the study, which was published Thursday in the journal "Environmental Health Perspectives," the researchers also found high arsenic levels in some organic foods sweetened with brown rice syrup, including cereal bars, energy bars, and gel energy "shots" that athletes slurp down after working out.
"The baby formula findings are concerning," Jackson said. The risk of arsenic poisoning from eating a cereal bar or an energy shot once in a while are low, he pointed out, but for babies and for people who are on gluten-free diets, arsenic poisoning could be a concern.
"All we can fall back on is what we know about exposure through drinking water," Jackson said. "Moms should know that these rice-based formulas may contain arsenic and should limit exposure. Look at the ingredients when you purchase formula."
Samples for the study -- 17 kinds of baby formula, 29 cereal bars, and three energy shots -- had been purchased from grocery stores in the Hanover, N.H., area. The report did not say which brands were tested.
Organic arsenic is found naturally in the soil, but a more dangerous kind of the chemical, known as inorganic arsenic, was widely used in pesticides for years before the EPA banned it in 2009. Inorganic arsenic has been linked to lung, bladder, and liver cancer, and exposure to arsenic can affect brain function over time.
Certain crops absorb more arsenic than others. Rice "takes up more arsenic than all the other grains," Jackson says, and brown rice is higher in arsenic than white rice. (When white rice is processed, the outer hull of the grain is removed; though arsenic is found inside the grain itself, inorganic arsenic is usually contained in the outer layer.)
Baby formulas made with rice starch had very low levels of arsenic, but ones made with brown rice syrup were high. The U.S. currently does not regulate the amount of arsenic in food, though after arsenic was found in some brands of apple juice the FDA set a "level of concern" of 23 parts per billion for fruit juices. The EPA standard for arsenic in drinking water is 10 parts per billion.
Brown rice syrup is frequently used as a "healthy" alternative to high-fructose corn syrup and can be found in foods that consumers don't think of as rice-based and in products that are touted as "healthy," "all natural," and "organic."
"Even if you were an educated consumer, some products might just creep under the radar," Jackson told ABC News.
Still, some dietitians warned consumers to take Jackson's study with a grain of salt.
"I would encourage consumers to not worry about this study, but to use it as a reminder that foods that grow in soil are growing with a wide variety of chemicals, both those found naturally in the soil and those that may be there from use of chemicals to foster growth," Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis, told HealthDay News. "Whether organic foods contain more arsenic, or other minerals, than conventional foods is hard to estimate, but this study does remind us that organic is not necessarily equal with healthier/better for you/safe from harm."