Under a new global
treaty that limits the use of mercury, some light bulbs will be banned. Some
batteries, thermometers and medical devices will be banned too. But mascara is
exempt. Last week, about 140 countries signed the United Nations’ Minamata Convention,
which includes a ban on mercury in cosmetics and soaps. But mascara and other
eye makeup is exempt because “no effective safe substitute alternatives are
available” and “the intention is not to cover cosmetics, soaps or creams with
trace contaminants,” the treaty says.
Under a new global
treaty that limits the use of mercury, some light bulbs will be banned. Some
batteries, thermometers and medical devices will be banned too. But mascara is
exempt.
Last week, about 140
countries signed the United Nations’ Minamata Convention, which includes
a ban on mercury in cosmetics and soaps. But mascara and
other eye makeup is exempt because “no effective safe substitute alternatives
are available” and “the intention is not to cover cosmetics, soaps or creams
with trace contaminants,” the treaty says.
Mercury is sometimes used in small amounts in mascara as a preservative and a germ-killer. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration allows it in eye cosmetics at a concentration of up to 65 parts per million.
Mercury is sometimes used in small amounts in mascara as a preservative and a germ-killer. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration allows it in eye cosmetics at a concentration of up to 65 parts per million.
“The purpose of the
products is to inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi that could spoil the
products and that could infect and damage the eye, so the risk-benefit analysis
favours the use of these preservatives,” said Joanna Tempowski, a scientist for
the World Health Organization’s International Programme on Chemical Safety, in
an email.
But Stacy Malkan, co-founder
of the advocacy group Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, said there is no reason “a
known neurotoxin should be allowed in any of these products” because most
companies already have found alternatives.
In the United States,
“companies just haven’t been using it. There’s absolutely no reason to not
include it in the treaty,” Malkan said. “It’s just ridiculous.”
There is no reason
"a known neurotoxin should be allowed in any of these products."
–Stacy Malkan, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
–Stacy Malkan, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Mercury is a potent neurotoxicant.
High levels can cause serious neurological effects and kidney damage, and, if a
pregnant woman is exposed, lower concentrations can disrupt the brain of a
developing fetus. However, no scientific studies have examined exposures or
effects from the low concentrations found in mascaras or other eye makeup.
The focus of the
treaty’s phase-out in cosmetics was on skin lightening creams that use much
larger concentrations of mercury as an active ingredient. For those products,
the toxic metal can be absorbed at high levels through the skin, and some studies have linked them to kidney damage in women.
Sheila Logan, a program
officer with the United Nations’ Mercury and Other Metals team, said in an
email response that when the treaty’s cosmetics ban goes into effect in 2020,
there probably will be “few or no products” with mercury.
Alternatives exist for
some mascaras – particularly those with shorter shelf lives – but not for all,
Logan said. When asked for examples of those products that currently do not
have substitute preservatives, she did not respond.
The Personal Care
Products Council, the trade group for the cosmetics industry, is not aware of
any manufacturers using mercury in mascara, said Linda Loretz, the group’s
chief toxicologist.
But according to a
database compiled by the Environmental Working Group,six mascaras and
two eyelash makeups manufactured
by Bari Cosmetics, Ltd. under the Love My Eyes brand contain thimerosal, a
mercury-based preservative. The database is compiled from the ingredients
listed on the boxes. The products were added to the database between July and
September of this year.
Bari Cosmetics, Ltd.
directed calls to the parent company, Revlon, which did not respond to requests
for comment.
The FDA does not require
ingredients that comprise less than 1 percent of a cosmetic product to be
divulged on the label, so a lot more products may have thimerosal and consumers
would never know, said Kristin Adams, chief executive officer of Afterglow Cosmetics,
a natural and organic cosmetic company.
"The purpose of
the products [preservatives] is to inhibit the growth of bacteria and fungi
that could spoil the products and that could infect and damage the eye." –Joanna Tempowski, World Health Organization
Instead of mercury, some
major brands use phenoxyethanol, methylisothiazolinone, parabens and
formaldehyde releasers as preservatives, according to the group’s database.
Such substitutes also
may not be benign; formaldehyde is carcinogenic to humans, and parabens may be
linked to hormone disruption. But none of the substitutes is as toxic as
mercury, said Sonya Lunder, an Environmental Working Group senior analyst.
Adams said many big
cosmetics companies use preservatives such as mercury and parabens because they
are good at what they do – extend shelf life.
“They (large companies)
are looking for a 5-year shelf life for their product because it’s all about
cost of goods for them,” she said. “Cosmetics will go bad very fast.”
Adams wouldn’t divulge
what Afterglow Cosmetics uses instead, but said they adhere to a France-based
network that developed a non-toxic standard for cosmetics.
“We see alternatives,
why not just include [eye makeup] in the ban?” Malkan said. “Women should not
be putting something so toxic right by eyeballs.”