Red alert on Sindoor quality

BANGALORE: Think twice if you are buying Kumkum or Sindoor for Rangoli or any other purpose this Deepavali; it could contain toxic levels of lead. A recent study conducted by the National Referral Centre for Lead Poisoning in India (NRCLPI) revealed that most of these traditional red or orange coloured cosmetic powder, sold as Sindoor, Kumkum or Vermillion, had high levels of lead content.The lead content varied from 40 ppm to 200 ppm in the samples sold in large quantities during festival season. The content was  estimated using X-ray fluorescence (XRF), a tool for assessing environmental exposure to lead in occupationally exposed individuals and older adults.These colours, which were available across the market in Bangalore, indicated unacceptable levels of lead, said Dr Thuppil Venkatesh, principal advisor, Quality Council of India (QCI) and NRCLPI.He explained that the traditional Kumkum was made out of dried turmeric. When the turmeric was heated with an addition of lime, then the water turned red. This was then used as Sindoor. However, now the powder was found to contain very high level of lead and in some instances even mercury. This induced toxicity on skin.After detecting alarming lead levels in petrol, paints and some traditional medicines, NRCLPI is now focusing on creating awareness on colours, containing high lead contents, sold in the market. Several published reports indicated that the presence of up to 87 per cent of lead in Sindoor eventually resulted in banning of import of several brands of Sindoor by FDA in the United States and it issued a nation-wide recall of Sindoor, added Dr Venkatesh.