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MANILA, Philippines – An environmental and health group on Sunday denounced the illegal sale of liquid mercury and mercury-added products online.
“It is not just skin whitening cosmetics that contain mercury that are sold online,” the EcoWaste Coalition said in a statement.
The group said that mercury thermometers, which are used to measure body temperature, and sphygmomanometers, which are used to measure blood pressure, as well as liquid mercury in vials, were “being sold illegally by third parties in the markets of electronic commerce. . “
EcoWaste had previously expressed concern about the online sale of skin whitening products banned by health authorities for containing mercury compounds, which are banned in cosmetic formulations.
“We remind consumers to be cautious and alert to the dangers of buying and using mercury and mercury-added products that are illegally offered for sale by online distributors,” said Thony Dizon, EcoWaste chemical safety activist.
“Mercury is highly toxic,” he added.
Dizon advised consumers to “look for mercury-free products” as it stressed the importance of “actively” supporting the implementation of policies and regulations related to mercury, including the environmentally sound management of mercury waste.
EcoWaste said it has already notified regulatory agencies, particularly the Office of Environmental Management (EMB) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), of the “alarming use of digital commerce to sell mercury and banned mercury-added products. in direct contravention of the law of the land “. mercury policies and regulations “.
In addition, the group said it also informed the FDA’s Center for Device Regulation, Health and Radiation Research (FDA-CDRRHR) about the online sale of mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers, which it said violated an administrative order issued by the Department of Health in 2008 that phased out mercury-containing medical devices in September 2010.
To address the problem, EcoWaste asked the FDA to issue a policy reiterating the ban on mercury-containing medical devices.
The group said that the FDA-CDRRHR has committed to “facilitate the development of the requested policy that prohibits or prohibits the manufacture, import, distribution and sale of mercury thermometers and sphygmomanometers.”
In a separate letter to the EO, which was jointly signed by Ban Toxics and Health Care Without Harm, EcoWaste asked the office to “get to the bottom of the illegal online sale of liquid mercury, which may be diverted to uses prohibited by law. such as mineral processing. “
The group cited an administrative order issued by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that “prohibits the use of mercury and mercury compounds and products with added mercury for artisanal and small-scale gold extraction and any other related mining activity” of pursuant to Executive Order 79.
“EMB had informed the EcoWaste Coalition that it had prepared a memorandum for the office’s legal division,” the group said.
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