Popular skin lightening products - known in Jamaica as “bleaching” - have been found to contain “alarmingly high levels of mercury,” according to a recent study done by the University of the West Indies (UWI).
Many Jamaicans engage in skin lightening.UWI’s Faculty of Science and Technology also warned that mercury is a toxic substance which can cause damage to the human gastrointestinal tract, nervous system and kidneys.
Many Jamaican women engage in the practice of using products to lighten their skin.
The study was conducted by Phylicia Ricketts, Andre Gordon and Mitko Voutchkov, from the Medical Physics Research Group in the UWI Department of Physics, along with collaborators Christopher Knight of the Jamaica government’s Mines and Geology Division, and Ana Boischio, of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which supported the study.
ANALYSIS
The researchers analyzed 60 skin lightening products available on the Jamaican market for their mercury content using X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) and Cold Vapor Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (CVAAS). The results were published in the June edition of the Journal of Health and Pollution.
The study found the mercury content in the products ranged from 0.05 ppm to 17,547 ppm, with six products containing levels above the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowable limit of one ppm of mercury for skin lightening products.
The UWI said results of the study are to be used in the design of public education initiatives about the risks involved with skin bleaching.
