Acting on a tip from Baltimore, New York City Health Department officials traced lead-laced cosmetics to suppliers in Asia and Africa after five children were sickened by the products.
The cosmetics ? called kohl, kajal and surma ? are applied around the eyes in some cultures to prevent children from needing glasses, Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Josh Sharfstein said, and have also been recommended for teething infants.
Baltimore officials posted a warning message in English, Urdu, Arabic, Bengali and Hindi in a number of neighborhood shops known to carry the products. Testing showed the cosmetics to carry from 4 percent lead, 41,298 parts per million, to 10 times as much.
Federal guidelines recommend cosmetics carry no higher than 10 parts per million lead.
“We contacted the New York Health Department in September, and they traced it back and uncovered a whole network of these products,” Sharfstein said.
Lead is a toxic metal that damages the brain, nervous system, kidneys and reproductive system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Lead poisoning also can cause problems in pregnancy and can lead to learning and behavior problems in young children.
In September, Sharfstein said two Maryland children suffered lead poisoning after their parents rubbed a powder around their eyes to ward off vision problems. The remedy tested as high as 45 percent lead, according to a release by Baltimore and state health officials.
The powder, one of those also identified by New York, was purchased in Baltimore.
Products dangerously high in lead content
The following products were identified by New York City officials as dangerously high in lead content:
» Hashmi Surma Special: Pakistan ? 47 percent lead (468,708 parts per million)
» “Pure Kohl from the Waters of ZamZam”: origin unknown ? 36 percent lead (362,419 ppm)
» Hashmi Kohl Aswad: Pakistan ? 27 percent lead (272,353 ppm)
» Hashmi Kajal: Pakistan ? 4 percent lead (41,298 ppm)
