Lead Content of Sindoor, a Hindu Religious Powder and Cosmetic: New Jersey and India, 2014-2015

Manthan P Shah; Derek G Shendell; Pamela Ohman Strickland; John D Bogden; Francis W Kemp; William Halperin

doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.303931

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Lead Content of Sindoor, a Hindu Religious Powder and Cosmetic: New Jersey and India, 2014-2015

Journal article

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Lead Content of Sindoor, a Hindu Religious Powder and Cosmetic: New Jersey and India, 2014-2015

Manthan P Shah, Derek G Shendell, Pamela Ohman Strickland, John D Bogden, Francis W Kemp and William Halperin

American journal of public health (1971), Vol.107(10), pp.1630-1632

10/2017

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2017.303931

PMCID: PMC5607663

PMID: 28817328

Abstract

Cosmetics - chemistry

Hinduism

Humans

India

Lead - analysis

New Jersey

To assess the extent of lead content of sindoor, a powder used by Hindus for religious and cultural purposes, which has been linked to childhood lead poisoning when inadvertently ingested. We purchased 95 samples of sindoor from 66 South Asian stores in New Jersey and 23 samples from India and analyzed samples with atomic absorption spectrophotometry methods for lead. Analysis determined that 79 (83.2%) sindoor samples purchased in the United States and 18 (78.3%) samples purchased in India contained 1.0 or more micrograms of lead per gram of powder. For US samples, geometric mean concentration was 5.4 micrograms per gram compared with 28.1 micrograms per gram for India samples. The maximum lead content detected in both US and India samples was more than 300 000 micrograms per gram. Of the examined US sindoor samples, 19% contained more than 20 micrograms per gram of lead (US Food and Drug Administration [FDA] limit); 43% of the India samples exceeded this limit. Results suggested continued need for lead monitoring in sindoor in the United States and in sindoor carried into the United States by travelers from India, despite FDA warnings.

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Title: Lead Content of Sindoor, a Hindu Religious Powder and Cosmetic: New Jersey and India, 2014-2015
Creators: Manthan P Shah - Manthan P. Shah and Derek G. Shendell are with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ. Pamela Ohman Strickland is with the Department of Biostatistics, Rutgers School of Public Health. John D. Bogden and Francis W. Kemp are with the Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark. William Halperin is with Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Newark
Derek G Shendell - Manthan P. Shah and Derek G. Shendell are with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ. Pamela Ohman Strickland is with the Department of Biostatistics, Rutgers School of Public Health. John D. Bogden and Francis W. Kemp are with the Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark. William Halperin is with Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Newark
Pamela Ohman Strickland - Manthan P. Shah and Derek G. Shendell are with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ. Pamela Ohman Strickland is with the Department of Biostatistics, Rutgers School of Public Health. John D. Bogden and Francis W. Kemp are with the Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark. William Halperin is with Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Newark
John D Bogden - Manthan P. Shah and Derek G. Shendell are with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ. Pamela Ohman Strickland is with the Department of Biostatistics, Rutgers School of Public Health. John D. Bogden and Francis W. Kemp are with the Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark. William Halperin is with Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Newark
Francis W Kemp - Manthan P. Shah and Derek G. Shendell are with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ. Pamela Ohman Strickland is with the Department of Biostatistics, Rutgers School of Public Health. John D. Bogden and Francis W. Kemp are with the Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark. William Halperin is with Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Newark
William Halperin - Manthan P. Shah and Derek G. Shendell are with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, NJ. Pamela Ohman Strickland is with the Department of Biostatistics, Rutgers School of Public Health. John D. Bogden and Francis W. Kemp are with the Department of Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark. William Halperin is with Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Newark
Publication Details: American journal of public health (1971), Vol.107(10), pp.1630-1632
Date published: 10/2017
Academic Unit: Microbiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics (NJMS); Epidemiology (SHP); Environmental and Occupational Health (SHP); Biostatistics (SHP)
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
Identifiers: 991031665536504646