Abstract
Background. A well-documented source of mercury contamination is skin-whitening cream. The heavy metal is sometimes added to the cream to block production of melanin. Past studies have shown that about one third of skin whitening creams for sale in Phnom Penh contained mercury levels considerably higher than both United States and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) guidelines. Developing nations such as Cambodia do not have the resources for monitoring and enforcement. Objectives. Evaluate the utility of handheld X-ray fluorescence analyzers for detection of mercury in skin-whiteners. Methods. A handheld XRF unit was used to measure the total mercury content of 676 skin-whitening creams collected from volunteers from a cross-section of Phnom Penh's residents. Results. About 16% of bleaching creams collected contained more than 20 ug/g of mercury. The highest concentration was about 35,000 ug/g. A third of the samples that were custom-made or modified by beauty shops contained more than 20 ug/g of mercury. Conclusions. The handheld XRF analyzer proved an excellent tool for screening mercury in skin creams, and could be particularly useful in developing countries because it is relatively inexpensive, requires no sample preparation or extraction, can be used by staff with little technical background, and can facilitate on-site education.
Highlights
Mercury is a toxic metal that, even in low concentrations, can impair fertility, suppress the immune system, damage kidneys, cause nerve damage, and impair learning.[1,2] Frequently, the potential for health impacts due to mercury contamination is assessed using human hair or blood
Agusa et al reported that some female subjects in Phnom Penh had mercury levels in their hair[7] that exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) threshold levels of 50 μg/g for neurotoxic effects.[8]
The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the utility of a handheld X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analyzer for detection of mercury in skin-whitening creams in developing countries with few resources for stringent monitoring and testing
Summary
Mercury is a toxic metal that, even in low concentrations, can impair fertility, suppress the immune system, damage kidneys, cause nerve damage, and impair learning.[1,2] Frequently, the potential for health impacts due to mercury contamination is assessed using human hair or blood. Agusa et al found 10 out of 60 hair samples from Phnom Penh had more than 10 μg/g of mercury and three of these samples had extreme levels of mercury (190, 70, and 60 μg/g).[6] Agusa et al reported that some female subjects in Phnom Penh had mercury levels in their hair[7] that exceeded World Health Organization (WHO) threshold levels of 50 μg/g for neurotoxic effects.[8] The same authors found serum estrone and estradiol levels were positively correlated with blood mercury level for both males and females, indicating possible induction of female hormones by mercury exposure in Cambodians These observations are consistent with studies indicating mercury is an endocrine disruptor in mercury exposure experiments with birds,[9] fish,[10] and human cell cultures.[11] Agusa et al ruled out the Sihanoukville mercury dumpsite storage as the source of mercury for the hair and blood samples collected. Past studies have shown that about one third of skin whitening creams for sale in Phnom Penh contained mercury levels considerably higher than both United States and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) guidelines Developing nations such as Cambodia do not have the resources for monitoring and enforcement. Skin-lightening, skin-whitening, skin-bleaching, XRF, handheld XRF, cosmetics, contaminants, mercury, X-rays J Health Pollution 3:21-31 (2012)
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