Mercury is a silver-colored liquid metal that can conduct electricity as well as measure temperature and pressure. As a result, mercury has been used in many household and commercial products. The problem is, in addition to these unique properties, mercury is also highly toxic.

Mercury is a neurotoxin that can damage the developing brain and may lead to learning disabilities in children. Mercury may also adversely affect the kidneys, lungs, and cardiovascular system. If exposed to the air at room temperature, mercury can vaporize and be inhaled, making indoor spills extremely dangerous.

Minnesota To Ban Added Mercury In Cosmetics
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) ― The quest for thicker lashes and defined eyes should get safer on Jan. 1, when Minnesota bans mercury from mascara, eye liners and skin-lightening creams.

The state apparently is the first in the nation to ban intentionally-added mercury in cosmetics. When the law takes effect, Minnesota will have a tougher standard than the federal government, which allows small amounts of mercury as a preservative in eye makeup.
Retailers who knowingly sell mercury-containing cosmetics could face fines of as much as $700. Penalties could reach $10,000 for manufacturers who fail to disclose mercury on product labels, according to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.
"Mercury does cause neurological damage to people even in tiny quantities," said Sen. John Marty, the Democrat from Roseville who sponsored the ban. "Every source of mercury adds to it. We wanted to make sure it wasn't here."
Federal law allows eye products to contain up to 65 parts per million of mercury. The exposure a person would get from a product used in small quantities around the eyes would not cause a problem, Bailey said.
"It's added at very low levels, and for good reason," he said.
Using eye makeup with mercury is unlikely to cause immediate health problems, but mercury accumulates in the body so consumers should avoid exposure whenever possible, said Carl Herbrandson, a toxicologist with the state Health Department.
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CAMPAIGN FOR SAFE COSMETICS

Searchable Product Guide

Check out Skin Deep and take a toxic tour of your bathroom cabinet. Find out what's known about the potential health risks from the personal care products you use everyday and learn about safer options.

Skin Deep is an interactive personal care product safety guide.  The searchable database features brand-by-brand safety rankings and in-depth information on over 14,000 shampoos, lotions, deodorants, sunscreens and other products from almost 1,000 brands.

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics says the tests show it is possible to make lipstick without lead - 39 percent of lipsticks tested had no detectable levels of lead - and cost does not seem to be a factor. Some less expensive brands such as Revlon ($7.49) had no detectable levels of lead, while the more expensive Dior Addict brand ($24.50) had higher levels than some other brands, said the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
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When the state Department of Ecology researched the largest sales sites, Amazon.com, Buy.com, Craig's List, eBay and Overstock.com, it found mercury-containing items on Amazon and eBay. Amazon responded immediately and is the first major online sales site to prohibit the use of its Web site to sell mercury-containing products. On the other hand, eBay has not removed these products from its site.

Contact: Miles Kuntz, mercury-products ban coordinator, 360-407-6748
Caitlin Cormier, public-information manager, 360-407-6149

For more information: Ecology's mercury site: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/mercury/index.html 
Information on the mercury ban: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/pbt/hgproductban.html 
The Department of Health mercury site: http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/mercury/

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WHAT IS FRAGRANCE

Phthalates Linked to Feminization of Boys (Web site)
Concerns about the health impacts of phthalates continue to mount, with new research linking high phthalate levels with feminized genitals in baby boys.  A recent government-funded study by Dr. Shanna Swan, a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Rochester, correlated prenatal phthalate exposure with a shortened anogenital distance (AGD) in male babies. The higher the levels of phthalates in the mother during pregnancy, the more likely the researchers were to find the shortened AGD. When this occurred, the boys were more likely to have incomplete testicular descent and smaller penises. The changes occurred at phthalate levels that have been measured in about one quarter of women in the United States.

Not Too Pretty  (PDF)
Independent laboratory tests found phthalates in more than 70% of health and beauty products tested – including popular brands of shampoo, deodorant, hair mouse, face lotion and every single fragrance tested.

Aggregate Exposures to Phthalates in Humans  (PDF)
This Health Care Without Harm report documents the science on phthalates and shows that people are exposed to phthalates from multiple sources and that those exposures may be adding up to harm. The report shows how no government agency is looking at the big picture of multiple exposures to phthalates.

Pretty Nasty  (PDF)
Documents product tests in Europe that also found phthalates in the majority of products tested.

1. Mercury Product Ban

"To learn more about the Mercury Education and Reduction Act that requires a halt to the sale of mercury-containing products, contact Miles Kuntz at the ..."
www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/eap/pbt/hgproductban.html

2. Buyers told to beware of mercury-containing products sold online

"Some mercury-containing products are not part of the ban. ... Contact: Miles Kuntz, mercury-products ban coordinator, 360-407-6748 ..."
www.ecy.wa.gov/news/2006news/2006-099.html

3. NEWMOA - Mercury Product Ban

"Designed to help manufacturers, importers, and distributors of mercury-added products comply with specific mercury-added product bans in the United States."
www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/imerc/productban.cfm

4. Status of Local, State and Federal Mercury Product Legislation and ...

"Also, this author can be contacted for a list of mercury product ... SB 1186 would ban the use of outdoor mercury vapor lighting after January 1, 2011 . ..."
www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/modelleg/Status2004.htm

5. Revise laws relating to mercury containing products

"Mercury-added products used by schools are not subject to this ban. (4) (a) Except as provided in subsection (4)(b), beginning January 1, 2008, ..."
data.opi.mt.gov/bills/2007/billhtml/SB0423.htm

8. STATES MERCURY PRODUCTS LEGISLATION (EXISTING & PROPOSED ...

"Hg product. labeling. X. X. X. X. X X X. X. X X. X. Ban sale Hg. thermometer ... For more information, see the Mercury Policy Project's website at: ..."
www.mercurypolicy.org/new/documents/stateslegislation.pdf

9. Banned Skin Bleaching / Skin Whitening products

"BANNED SKIN BLEACHING PRODUCTS CONTAINING HARMFUL SUBSTANCES (referenced from ... Cosmetic products listed below contain hydroquinone, steroids, mercury and ..."
www.whiterskin.com/banned-skin-bleaching.html

BANNED SKIN BLEACHING PRODUCTS CONTAINING HARMFUL SUBSTANCES (referenced from www.kebs.org)

Click here for original article.

The Kenya Bureau of Standards invoking legal notice number 66 of 1999 and Legal Notice 155 of 1998 (read together with legal notice 75 of 2000), issued a public notice in the media to inform and educate consumers on the harmful effects of mercury, hydroquinone, and hormonal preparations and oxidizing agents contained in some cosmetic products in the market. The action was in line with these legal notices, which empower the Kenya Bureau of Standards to prohibit any goods, which do not comply with Kenya Standards or any other approved standards.