(Levels of mercury detected surpass threshold limit for mercury waste) Quezon City. The toxics watchdog group EcoWaste Coalition has detected mercury, a chemical banned in cosmetics, in three imported skin lightening products at extremely high levels that would easily qualify them as mercury waste. In a follow-up investigation, the group returned to Mandaluyong City last Friday, June 14, to purchase three variants of Pakistan-made Goree Beauty Creams that are sold for P300 each at a pharmacy along F.
Martinez St. corner Nueve de Febrero St., Barangay Addition Hills.
The group had earlier monitored the illegal sale of Goree and other unauthorized skin lightening products with mercury in 12 retail stores located in Barangay Addition Hills, Barangay Hulo, Barangay Pag-asa and Barangay Wack-Wack Greenhills East. Using a handheld X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device, the EcoWaste Coalition detected mercury above 25,000 parts per million (ppm) in all the three Goree products that were analyzed for mercury. The Goree Gold 24K Beauty Cream was found to contain 28,560 ppm of mercury, while Goree Day & Night Beauty Cream and Goree Beauty Cream with Lycopene contained 27,340 ppm and 25,770 ppm of mercury, respectively.
“The outrageous amounts of mercury in these contraband cosmetics would qualify them as mercury waste,” said Aileen Lucero, National Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition. “We got these highly toxic so-called beauty creams from a pharmacy, of all places.” “Concerted action .
