GMA Lead in Lipstick Tests Reveal More Than Half Contain Traces
GMA has revealed that more than 50 percent of lipsticks contain lead in them. "Good Morning America" has shocked many make up lovers with their revelation, but shockingly the practice is not illegal.
The show says it bought 22 different lipsticks and lip glosses and had them tested for lead. The results found that 12 of the 22, which is 55 percent, contained trace amounts of lead. However, the use of lead is not illegal, as there is no federal limit for cosmetics, according to the program.
The show reveals that it found the various lipsticks contained from between zero detectable levels of lead to 3.22 parts per million. The industry limit for lipstick in California is apparently 5 parts per million, and in Europe it is 10 parts per million.
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GMA also revealed that in 2010 similar tests showed that the highest lead level in lipsticks tested was 7 parts per million – indicating a drop in the levels being seen in cosmetics sold in the United States.
However, despite the apparent improvements, there are some who believe that all lipsticks should be forced to contain zero lead.
"Clearly the concerning part is that more than half of the lipsticks do contain lead, but half of them don't, proving that it's possible to manufacture a lipstick without lead," said Janet Nudelman of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, according to ABC News.
Although nothing has been proven to show that the amount of lead in lipsticks is significant enough to cause harm, activists warn that it is possible that a woman wearing lipstick can pass lead to her baby internally when pregnant.
Indeed the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that there is no safe level of lead in a child's body.
"What we know now is that even the lowest levels of lead can harm your IQ, your behavior, your ability to learn, so we want to make sure that it is out of everything that is in the environment of children," Dr. Sean Palfrey, medical director for the Boston Lead Poisoning Prevention Program, said to "GMA."
