Mercury Contamination of Skin Whiteners in Cambodia

ABSTRACT

Eleven of 41 brands of skin whiteners that were collected in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and processed with a screening kit contained more than 2000 μg/g mercury. Risk analysis indicates that these 11 brands were toxic. Nine of 19 of these skin whiteners analyzed with cold vapor atomic absorption (CVAA) spectrophotometry exceeded Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) guidelines for cosmetic good manufacturing practice limit on mercury of 1 μg/g. The most contaminated whitener analyzed by CVAA had 12,590 μg/g mercury. The mercury-containing products were labeled as produced in Thailand, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the United States, and an unidentified country. Eight other products (antifungal, steroids, and antibiotics) were sold as additives to be mixed into whitener concoctions. In the 19 samples analyzed with CVAA, there was a significant association between the mercury content and a label “for export only.” Labeling of sampled products varied from detailed to slight, with none containing Khmer instructions. Variability in mercury content of some products appeared to reflect copying of brand names with very similar packaging.

Key Words:

• women
• export
• trade
• cosmetics
• mercury
• skin whitener

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thanks go to Shaun Ayers and Ron Weyand, who conducted the CVAA Hg analyses at the University of California, Davis. Dr. How-Ran Guo provided information on mercury containing skin whiteners in Taiwan. Ms. Ratchadawan Ngoen-klan translated the methods for the Thai mercury kit. Ms. Siripan Na Jatturat assisted with communications with the Thai supplier of the medical kits. The Blacksmith Institute provided support for mercury evaluation of artisanal miners. We appreciate the many useful comments from the reviewers of this article. We appreciate the support from the late Dr. Mickey Sampson, who inspired us throughout this project.

Notes

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^a Face surface area represents about 9% of the whole body (Sheng et al. 2003) and total surface area of female is about 16,000 cm² (Bender 1995).

^b A typical woman uses about 10 ml of whitening cream a day and we assume only the face is treated (10000/1440) (http://www.alibaba.com/catalog/101274379/Fv4_Helichrysum_Night_Cream_50ml.html).