Will our Women open their eyes?

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Following is the front page news of "The New Sunday Express" Will it open the eyes of our women ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Published on

February 24 2008

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Page 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BINDIS

COME WITH

A TAG: LEAD

POISONING

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They are ubiquitous.

Designer bindis, pottus of all shapes and sizes,

little pots of colour and kumkum powder find

a place in almost every neighbourhood store,

bought by dozens of women everyday. Besides

the heightened colour they give to beautiful

faces, they may also be giving them something

quite unwanted. Lead poisoning.

Concern has been rising ever since, a manu-

facturer was recently forced to withdraw a

large batch of bindis and kumkum from the

United States when they were found to con-

tain higher than the permissible levels of lead.

S Shobana, a dermatologist in the city, said

she saw around three cases every month of

women who had developed rashes or skin

inflammation because of the bindis or

kumkum they used. ‘‘If they continue using

products that contain lead, it could be very

harmful in the long run,'' she said.

Lead is known to cause several ailments

including cerebral palsy and brain disease in

children. It has a host of effects on adults,

especially with long-term exposure.

Osteoporosis, behavioural problems, hearing

impairments, joint pain and fertility problems

are some of them. But it is not just lead that is

potentially harmful in these products. Many

bindis that have adhesive at the back also

cause eczema, and other related skin prob-

lems. ‘‘The adhesive used is coated in plastic

which also causes problems,'' Dr Shobana

added.

R Rajagopal, managing partner of Aravind

Laboratories that manufactures kumkum,

kajal and bindis among other products, said

permissable levels of lead and arsenic were not

adhered to by many manufacturers. ‘‘The

colouring agents contain a lot of lead, arsenic

and other heavy metals. To bring the levels

down, the product has to be refined. But this is

an expensive procedure and many manufac-

turers don't do it,'' he said and added that the

process could cost the manufacturer up to

Rs 200 per kilo. Almost none of the bindis in

the market have a list of ingredients or any

health warning regarding the adhesive or

colouring agents used. This, despite the

Packaged Commodities Rules, 1977 that make

this mandatory. ‘‘I buy designer bindis but

have never really checked for ingredients,''

said S Sindhu, a software professional.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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