NGOs request on-line retailer, Taobao, to remove mercury-containing skin whitening products2012年04月11日，北京:
呼吁淘宝网加强网店管理，清除危害公众和环境健康的产品
Results at a Glance
- Skin lightening products containing mercury
- Skin lightening products containing arsenic or lead
- Products Containing Levels of Concern
Other Product Testing
Mercury in skin-lightening and freckle-removing products in China
In China, mercury is limited to 1ppm in skin-lightening and freckle-removing products due to concerns over exposure and harm to health. In this study, Green Beagle and IPEN collaborated with Chinese NGOs in 10 provinces to determine whether skin-lightening products containing high levels of mercury are available on the market in China. Products were purchased online and in stores and markets located in Beijing (Beijing Municipality), Chongqing (Sichuan Province), Dongguan (Guangdong Province), Harbin (Heilongjiang Province), Hefei (Anhui Province), Nanjing (Jiangsu Province), Lanzhou (Gansu Province), Panjin (Liaoning Province), Shanghai (Shanghai Municipality), and Tianjin (Tianjin Municipality).
Mercury was measured using a portable X-ray fluorescence analyzer (XRF) which was calibrated using laboratory measurements of products. The XRF device is routinely used by companies and government regulatory agencies for metals detection in food, consumer products and other media.
We found 112 products (23%) that violated the Chinese regulatory limit for mercury of 1 ppm. Mercury concentrations in products ranged from 18 ppm to nearly 44,000 ppm. The top five products contained mercury at concentrations ranging from 17,918 ppm to 43,988 ppm. These products should not be for sale on the Chinese market.
Skin-lightening products were also found that exceeded Chinese regulatory limits for arsenic (10 ppm) and lead (40 ppm). Forty-six products contained arsenic, lead, or both metals. Forty-four of the 46 products violated the Chinese regulatory limit for arsenic. Twenty products in this group exceeded the Chinese regulatory limit for lead (40 ppm) and 28 exceeded the ASEAN limit for lead (20 ppm). Twenty-three products contained all three metals; mercury, arsenic, and lead. The presence of more than one toxic metal in a product applied directly to the body increases the possibility of harm.
All of the products in the current study that violate the regulatory limit for mercury were readily available on the market in stores located in 10 cities in 10 different provinces. In addition, products containing high levels of mercury were available for purchase throughout the country from the popular on-line retailer, Taobao. None of the products we tested were labeled to indicate mercury, arsenic, or lead content.
To our knowledge, this is the largest publicly available investigation of mercury in skin-lightening and freckle-removing products in China.
Recommendations
FOR THE INDUSTRY:
- Manufacturers and formulators should obey Chinese laws, immediately phase out mercury and other toxic chemicals, and shift to safer ingredients
- Retailers should remove products violating Chinese law from sale. Products identified containing greater than 1 ppm mercury or 10 ppm arsenic or 40 ppm lead should be removed from store shelves and internet websites
- Manufactures should actively generate and disclose the chemical content of skin-lightening products and other cosmetics as a condition for sale in China
- Manufacturers should promote the design and development of safer cosmetic products using green design, safe natural materials, and green chemistry
FOR THE GOVERNMENT:
- Issue an advisory that requires removal from sale all skin-lightening products identified containing greater than 1ppm mercury
- Re-classify skin whitening products as cosmetics of specific use to bring them under greater regulatory control
- Work with civil society organizations to conduct a continuing public information drive to educate local government officials, consumers and other stakeholders about the risks posed by mercury in cosmetics
FOR CONSUMERS:
- The safest way for consumers to protect themselves is to accept their natural skin tone and avoid the use of skin-lightening products.
- Support policies requiring the disclosure of chemical content as a condition for sale of cosmetic products
在中国，很多女性都梦想拥有雪白无瑕的肌肤。俗话说，“一白遮百丑”，足见白皮肤对于衡量美的重要性。美白、祛斑类化妆品在中国市场受到广泛的欢迎。
在一些美白、祛斑产品中，汞作为一种能使皮肤快速变白的成分被添加。然而，含汞的化妆品不仅不能掩饰人们皮肤的“缺陷”，反而会危害使用者的健康。根据世界卫生组织的资料显示，化妆品中的无机汞会造成肾功能损害、皮疹、皮肤变色、结疤、焦虑、抑郁症、精神病、周围神经病变、抗感染能力降低等i。为了保证消费者健康，中华人民共和国国家标准《化妆品卫生标准》（标准号：GB7916-87）要求化妆品内汞含量不能超过1ppm（含有机汞防腐剂的眼部化妆品除外，含乙酸铅的染发剂除外）。
2012年3月至4月期间，10家民间环保组织——达尔问自然求知社（北京）、重庆两江志愿服务发展中心（重庆）、东莞市绿色珠江环保促进中心（广州东莞）、上海绿洲生态保护交流中心（上海）、安徽绿满江淮环境发展中心（安徽合肥）、天津未来绿色青年领袖协会（天津）、绿色龙江（黑龙江哈尔滨）、江苏绿色之友（江苏南京）、绿色盘锦（辽宁盘锦）和绿驼铃（甘肃兰州）——与国际消除持久性有机污染物网络（IPEN）抽取了10个城市和网上商店的美白、祛斑类化妆品，利用手持X射线荧光分析仪（简称“XRF分析仪”）进行检测，以了解中国市场上的这两类化妆品中是否含有汞。该仪器被一些公司、政府管理部门、科研机构用于日常检测食品、消费品和其它物质如土壤、灰尘、合金、矿石等中的重金属含量。本次调查中，检测人员用已知浓度样品来标定XRF分析仪的系统误差，然后进行系统检测。
在所有抽检的产品中，有112个汞含量超过了国家标准1ppm，涉及美白和祛斑两类产品，汞含量从18ppm至近44,000ppm不等，占所有抽检产品数量的23%（具体产品明细见“附录一”）。汞含量最高的五个产品高达17918ppm至43988ppm。这些产品不应该在中国市场出现。
根据《化妆品卫生标准》（GB7916-87），化妆品中砷和铅的限值分别为10ppm和40ppm。在本次抽检的美白、祛斑化妆品中，部分产品的砷含量和铅含量超过了国家标准。附录2中所列46个产品都被检测出含有砷或铅，或两者。其中44个产品超过了国家标准对化妆品中砷含量的规定。20种产品超过了国家标准对化妆品中铅含量的规定。然而，东南亚国家联盟对化妆品中铅含量的规定为20ppm，参考这个标准，则有28个产品超标。23种样品被检出同时含有三种重金属，汞、砷和铅。在同一个产品中含有多种有毒重金属，对使用者的健康带来更大的风险。
本次调查中检测到重金属含量超标的产品，涉及北京市、上海市、重庆市、天津市、辽宁省盘锦市、黑龙江省哈尔滨市、江苏省南京市、安徽省合肥市、广东省东莞市和甘肃省兰州市10个省或直辖市的共10个城市。从淘宝网上购得的重金属超标产品则可能销往全国各地。
据我们所知，这是在中国最大的一个公开的针对美白、祛斑化妆品中汞含量的调查
建议：
1、化妆品行业：
- 化妆品制造商和配方研究人员应立即停止在化妆品中添加含有汞及其它有毒重金属和化学品，以安全的替代品替代。
- 化妆品零售商应停止销售含有违反国家规定的产品。经本次调查查明，汞含量超过1ppm或砷含量超过10ppm或铅含量超过40ppm的化妆品，应立即从实体店和网店中下架。
- 化妆品制造商应依照相关法律和标准，主动在产品包装上标明产品所含成分。
- 化妆品制造商应设计和生产更为绿色环保和安全的产品，使用绿色、天然和安全的原料，以保护公众健康和环境。
2、政府部门：
- 发布公告，要求检出汞含量1ppm以上的美白、祛斑化妆品全部下架。
- 将美白类化妆品列入特殊用途化妆品，加强监管。
- 与民间组织合作，就化妆品中的汞对公众健康带来的风险这一议题进行持续的信息公开，以提高政府官员、消费者和其他利益相关方的意识。
3、消费者：
- 接受自己自然的肤色，不使用美白、祛斑类化妆品。
- 支持倡导消费品中化学品信息公开方面的政策。
About the metals
| 金属元素Metal | 主要危害Impacts |
|---|---|
| 汞Mercury (Hg) | 根据世界卫生组织的资料显示，化妆品中的无机汞会造成肾功能损害、皮疹、皮肤变色、结疤、焦虑、抑郁症、精神病、周围神经病变、抗感染能力降低等1。According to the World Health Organization, the inorganic mercury contained in some skin-lightening products can cause kidney damage, skin rashes, skin discoloration, scarring, anxiety, depression, psychosis, peripheral neuropathy, and reduction of resistance to infections.2 |
| 砷Arsenic (As) | 砷作用于神经系统、刺激造血器官，长期接触砷会引发细胞中毒和 毛细管中毒、高血压、神经机能障碍，还有可能诱发恶性肿瘤3。人 体暴露实验显示，越来越多的关于肺、肝、心脏的疾病、肺癌以及 婴儿夭折与砷的接触有关4。儿童智力低下可能与砷的暴露有关5。Inorganic arsenic is a known human carcinogen with links to lung, skin, and bladder cancers.6 Arsenic exposure is correlated with lower IQ in children.7 |
| 铅Lead (Pb) | 铅是已知神经毒素，会影响人的感官、行动、认知和行为，包括学 习障碍、难以集中注意力等；还可能影响儿童协调、视觉、空间和 语言能力，以及贫血8。幼年接触铅所造成的健康危害会持续到青少 年和成年阶段9。美国疾病控制和预防中心研究指出，儿童血液中的 铅含量安全值应该为零10，对铅的接触不存在安全阈值11。Lead is a well-known neurotoxicant with no safe level of exposure. 11 12 The harms from childhood lead exposure are irreversible and persist into adolescence and adulthood.13 Lead impacts include learning disabilities; attention deficits; disorders in a child’s coordination, visual, spatial and language skills, and anemia.14 |
[2] World Health Organization (2011) Mercury in skin-lightening products http://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/mercury_flyer.pdf
[3] Chen Y, Parvez F, Gamble M, Islan T, Ahmed A, Argos M, Graziano JH, Ahsan H (2009) Arsenic exposure at low-to-moderate levels and skin lesions, arsenic metabolism, neurological functions, and biomarkers for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases: review of recent findings from the Health Effects of Arsenic Longitudinal Study (HEALS) in Bangladesh, Toxic ApplPharmacol 239:184 – 192
[4] States JC, Barchowsky A, Cartwright IL, Reichard JF, Futscher BW, Lantz RC (2011) Arsenic toxicology: Translating between experimental models and human pathology, Environ Health Perspect doi:10.1289/ehp.1103441 http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/citationList.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.1103441
[5] Dong J, Su SY (2009) The association between arsenic and children’s intelligence: a meta-analysis, Biol Trace Elem Res 129:88 – 93
[6] Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (1992) Toxicological profile for arsenic, US Public Health Service http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/TP.asp?id=22&tid=3
[7] Dong J, Su SY (2009) The association between arsenic and children’s intelligence: a meta analysis, Biol Trace Elem Res 129:88 – 93
[8] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2006) Air Quality Criteria for Lead (September 29, 2006); WHO (2004) Burden of disease attributable to selected environmental factors and injuries among Europe’s children and adolescents http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/9241591900/en/index.html. Review of Scientific Information on Lead (2008), developed by UNEP in response to Governing Council Decisions 23/9 and 22/4 (draft November 2008)
[9] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2006) Air Quality Criteria for Lead (September 29, 2006)
[10] US Centers for Disease Control (2005). Prevention of lead poisoning in young children: a statement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Atlanta, GA USA: CDC; 2005, www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/publications/prevleadpoisoning.pdf; (2002) Managing elevated blood lead levels among young children: recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention. Atlanta, GA: CDC; 2002. www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/casemanagement/casemanage_main.htm
[11] Basic Information about Lead in Drinking Water http://water.epa.gov/drink/contaminants/basicinformation/lead.cfm
[12] US Centers for Disease Control (2005). Prevention of lead poisoning in young children: a statement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Atlanta, GA USA: CDC; 2005, www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/publications/prevleadpoisoning.pdf; (2002) Managing elevated blood lead levels among young children: recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention. Atlanta, GA: CDC; 2002. www.cdc.gov/nceh/lead/casemanagement/casemanage_main.htm
[13] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2006) Air Quality Criteria for Lead (September 29, 2006)
[14] U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (2006) Air Quality Criteria for Lead (September 29, 2006); WHO (2004) Burden of disease attributable to selected environmental factors and injuries among Europe’s children and adolescents http://www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/publications/9241591900/en/index.html. Review of Scientific Information on Lead (2008), developed by UNEP in response to Governing Council Decisions 23/9 and 22/4 (draft November 2008)
This activity has been produced with the financial assistance of various donors including the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, SSNC. The views herein shall not necessarily be taken to reflect the official opinion of SSNC.