ABSTRACT

The exposure of the common pollutants in our environment such as the air we breathe, water and
food result in heavy metal toxicity to human beings, animals and environment as a whole. The
heavy metal toxicity to the humans is the result of long term low or high level exposure to
pollutants common in our environment including in air we breathe, water, food etc. The source of
heavy metal exposure are innumerable because of our growing technology in todays modern
world, one among them is the cosmetic industry which directly or indirectly poses a threat to the
heavy metal exposure to human beings. Mercury, lead and cadmium are the dominating heavy
metals found in fairness creams, lipsticks and other cosmetic products. These beauty products
are not only harmful to the health of human beings, but also harmful to the environment during
the disposal of such cosmetic products which contain heavy metals.
Objectives of the Study
To prove that the market and usage of cosmetic products are growing at a rapid speed in
India and the heavy metals used in the cosmetics causes a major health risk to the
consumers.
ow far the drugs and cosmetics regulatory laws are effective in India.
The most important sources of heavy metal exposure in the environment is cosmetic
products because of the unsafe and improper disposal of cosmetics that contaminates
landfills and groundwater.
INTRODUCTION.
!ccording to Section 3(aaa . D!u" and Cos#etic Act$ %&'( "osmetic is defined as #!ny
article intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled or sprayed on, or introduced into, or otherwise
applied to, the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting
attractiveness, or altering the appearance, and includes any article intended for use as a
component of cosmetic$
The regulations of cosmetic products are ensured for health and safety. In India though there are
few regulations on cosmetic products, %overnment does not provide a constant inspection and
periodical studies on the presence of harmful chemicals and heavy metals in cosmetic products.
)eavy *eta+ to,icity in cos#etics
! recent study conducted on &anuary '()* in India about the presence of heavy metals in
cosmetics, has revealed shocking news to all women. +ur favorite fairness creams and lipsticks
marketed by the top movie stars in advertisements contain heavy amount of toxic metals namely
mercury, lead, cadmium and chromium. Todays young ladies who do not step out without their
desired lipsticks are manufactured with chromium and also cadmium in some, which is
carcinogenic
)
. .
The study was conducted by "entre for ,cience and -nvironments .",-s/ 0ollution
Monitoring 1ab .0M1/. India has prohibited the use of mercury in cosmetics. 2rom the tested
samples 0ollution Monitoring 1ab found mercury in ** per cent of the fairness creams and also
chromium in 3( per cent and nickel in *4 per cent of the lipstick samples it tested.
The study of Cent!e fo! Science and -nvi!on#ent.s and its findin"s
54 cosmetic products of four different categories were tested for heavy metals6
4' fairness creams .'7 for women and six for men/ were tested for mercury.
4(lipsticks, 8 lip balms and 4 anti9ageing creams were tested for lead, cadmium,
chromium and nickel.
:oth Indian and International cosmetic brands were tested and also few herbal products.

The ",- made a comparison of the heavy metal toxicity level found in the cosmetics with their
!cceptable ;aily Intake .!;I/ limits. !;I is the maximum amount of a toxin that a person can
be exposed to over a lifetime without any appreciable health risk. ",- made the comparison of
the amount of heavy metal with !;I set by the <, -nvironmental 0rotection !gency .<,-0!/
as India has not set limits for !;I for mercury.
The outcome of the results showed fairness creams may accord up to 5) per cent of the !;I for
mercury, depending upon the product and the amount of the fairness cream used. The exposure to
mercury is extremely heavy from just one product. =ith some whitening cream accounting for
over 3( per cent of the !;I for mercury, chances are high that a person using these products may
exceed the !;I limit for mercury.
Health Impact of Heavy Metals in Cosmetics
1
Any substance or agent that tends to produce a cancer.
!dverse health risks are experienced because of the mercury content present in cosmetic
products. ealth risks associated with mercury would increase proportionally. *e!cu!y is a
neurotoxin
'
. Mercury is used in the cosmetics under several names such as #mercurous chloride$,
calomel, mercuric, mercurio. >idney problems, skin rashes and discoloration are few health
impacts caused by the mercury metal in fairness creams. !s mercury is a neurotoxin, it also
causes depression and peripheral neuropathy.
4
Mercury toxicity in cosmetics is a growing health
issue around the world. It has also been proved that the expecting mothers who used cosmetic
products containing mercury gave birth to children with developmental issues such motor
difficulty and sensory problems.

The study which was conducted by the ",- shows that the level of ch!o#iu# is extremely high
in the lipsticks when compared to the !;I. "hromium is in many different forms, one such form
is exavalent chromium ."r?I/, which is likely to cause cancer in human beings. These
chromium compounds have been declared as carcinogens by the International !gency for
@esearch on "ancer .I!@"/. ! constant user of such type of lipstick may suffer from respiratory
problems, skin allergies and nasal itch.
! high amount of usage of products containing Nic/e+ causes skin allergies
Re"u+ations fo! Cos#etics
India
;rugs and cosmetics !ct )A*( and @ules )A*3 and 1abeling ;eclarations by :ureau of Indian
,tandards .:I,/ are the two laws that regulate cosmetic products in India. . The standards for
cosmetics for the products listed under ,chedule B, of the ;rugs and cosmetics @ules )A*3
*
are
set by the :I,.
,chedule B, contains about 'A cosmetic products as of now. !s the 4(
th
product ,indhoor has
been included in the draft rules. More products are to be added to the schedule namely liquid
2
Neurotoxins are an extensive class of exogenous chemical neurological insults
[
which can
adversely affect function in both developing and mature nervous tissue
3
Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is damage or disease affecting nerves, which may affect
sensation, movement, gland or organ function, and other aspects of health, depending on
the type of nerve affected
4
The ;rugs and "osmetics act and rules6 The manufacture of cosmetics for sale or distribution,
0art CI?, rules )48
foundation make up, cold wax-hair remover, face pack, kajal, oxidation hair
dyes and cream bleach.
,chedule M9II is followed by the manufacturer to build the factory for the manufacture of
cosmetics, for sale and distribution. The license is obtained by filling an application in form 4)
and a payment of the license fee of @s.'3(( and an inspection fee of @s.)(((. The licensing
authority reviews the information and shall be granted in the form 4'.
@ule )*3 of the ;rugs and "osmetics @ules prohibits use of lead and arsenic compounds in
cosmetics for the purpose of coloring. @ule )43 prohibits import of cosmetics in which a lead or
arsenic compound has been used for the coloring purpose. @ule )*3 ; and )43 ! prohibits
manufacture and import respectively of cosmetics containing mercury compounds.
DIS0OSA1 O2 COS*-TICS IN T)- -N3IRON*-NT4
TO5IC 0O11UTION4
The disposal of cosmetic products is also one of the primary cause for freash and ocean water
contamination in the environment. Though we have many emerging water treatment plants to
remove the toxins, it is not designed in such a way to completely remove the toxins we put into
them.
-ach and every lipstick pack we dispose gives away )' percent of solid waste composed of
plastic. Dot only the plastic packs damage the environment but also the heavy metals in the
lipstick.
!part from the fairness creams and lipsticks, dis6osa+ of the nai+ 6o+ish and nai+ 6o+ish
!e#ove!s are unsafe according to the -nvironmental 0rotection !gency .-0!/, and improper
disposal is also illegal.
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products as Pollutants .00"0s/ enter into the
environment through individual human activity and as residues from manufacturing,
agribusiness,veterinary use, and hospital and community use. Individuals may add 00"0s to the
environment through waste excretion and bathing as well as by directly disposing of unused
medications to septic tanks, sewers, or trash. :ecause 00"0s tend to dissolve relatively easily
and do not evaporate at normal temperatures, they often end up in soil and water bodies.
The other improper way of disposing the cosmetics products is by way of 2+ushin" thin"s do7n
the toi+et, is extremely harmful. It may also end up in shortage of water supply as I have
mentioned earlier the water treatment plants are not well designed to remove all the toxins from
the waste water. The other such harmful conseEuences are poisoning aquatic environments.
SU88-STIONS4
0!o6e! dis6osa+6 If you cant find a way to reuse your old makeup, carefully remove it
all from the containers .see below for recycling container methods/ and put it all in a
sealed jar or packaging that you can then send to the landfill. As of right now, landfills
are the best place to dump cosmetics. andfills are have plastic barriers that
separate the garbage and the ground, which, although imperfect, reduces the
ris! of contaminating the soil and water table.
Retai+ d!o6 off 6!o"!a#s4 Through the :ack to M!" 0rogram fromM!" "osmetics,
you can receive a free lipstick of your choice in exchange for every six primary
packaging containers you return to a M!" counter or through the M!" "osmetics site.
The continued use of products contaminated with such heavy metals may cause slow
release of these metals into the human body and thus show their harmful effects. ,o the
extensive uses of such products should be avoided.
The regulatory gaps to be rectifed
"olourants make up )(per cent of the weight of a lipstick, and are one of the sources of
heavy metals. There are no limits for finished products F which makes it difficult to
monitor.

Conc+usion