The bindi, the ubiquitous mark on the forehead of Indian women is facing a problem in the distant United States where a manufacturer has been forced to withdraw a batch along with other cosmetics products from the market owing to its high lead content. In the land of its birth, the bindi, however, continues to be manufactured unchecked as there is no agency to monitor the usage and harmful effects of spurious products. "The cosmetics industry is not at all regulated in India. There's no apex body to control this in India', said Deepak Vohra, a cosmetologist. "What's worse is the fact that most of the branded products in the market do not carry the mandatory label of ingredients, colouring agent (chemicals used) and Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark and no declaration whatsoever that that the products are manufactured from any carcinogenic or any harmful ingredients', Vohra added. According to experts, sindoor or kumkum readily available in market often contains high amount of lead, which heightens the risk of poisoning. Lead exposure can result in a wide range of biological effects, depending upon the level and duration of exposure. Synthetic sindoor can cause serious dermatological disorders like irritation, skin toxicity, eczema, leucoderma. Long-term exposure to even low levels of lead can cause irreversible learning difficulties, mental retardation, and delayed neurological and physical development, doctors say. "It has been proved repeatedly that the metals like lead and mercury, used in such cosmetics, can be absorbed through skin and permeate into internal organs causing irreparable damages,' says Rishi Parashar, a doctor of Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. "These toxic elements after entering human body can harmevery organ in the human body, especially the brain, kidney and reproductive system, ' he adds.

us-based Occupational Knowledge (ok) International recently announced the launch of

A major attempt to streamline-or, critics claim, politicize-the revision of important air-quality standards has run into trouble. One year ago, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) overhauled its lengthy process of updating the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS), which have far-reaching impacts on many regulations. Some critics feared the move would allow politics to trump science by giving agency appointees more say and sidelining external scientific review.

The present study was undertaken to know the effect of concentration of lead (Pb) and different organic materials on the maize yield, concentrations of lead on maize plants and diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA) extractable lead (Pb) on the post harvested soils.

Teak leaves (Tectona grandis) abundantly available in India showed high sorption capacity for lead ions and were found efficient for the removal of lead ions from aqueous solutions. The extent of removal was found to be dependent on pH, temperature, concentration of metal ions and the dose of adsorbent.

Vedanta Resources plc is a London listed FTSE 100 diversified metals and mining group. Its principal operations are located throughout India, with further operations in Zambia and Australia. Vedanta produces aluminium, copper, zinc and lead and iron ore. It also has interests in commercial energy and is in the process of setting up a 2,400MW independent power plant.

The Toxics Link study found high concentrations of lead in all samples of soft toys containing PVC. Even trace amounts of lead are dangerous to children.

The moniker

it seems the us is paying for its negligence on toxic-waste trade. A recent study says the country is flooded with Chinese jewellry made out of us-exported toxic e-waste. Researchers studied

Blood lead level BLL and growth parameters including weight and height, in children, living in lead mining area was surveyed.

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