TV Story: Irish Factory Poisoning Africans

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday November 27, 2002 21:38 by Gluaiseacht

TG4 will be doing a short piece about a factory in Arklow on Thursday 28 November at 8pm and repeated on Sunday at 7.20pm. The program is called "An Tuath Nua" and don't worry, it will be subtitled. The factory is producing "Mercury Soap", a highly toxic substance that causes lots of damage to people that use it and the environmnet. The aim of the "soap" is to make your skin whiter, it is big business in Africa and Asia.

The Factory, owned by a company called Killarney Enterprises, has been making the soap since 1989. Mercury is such a toxic substance that the selling of these skin-whitening products was banned in Europe in the 1980's, however it is not illegal to produce this stuff so it is perfectly legal to export it to countries in Africa.
The effects of the mercury on the body are drastic. It removes melanin from the skin, this is a pigment that gives people a dark colour, but it also protects the skin from UV rays and this leads to people getting skin cancer. The mercury also breaks down the fibres in the skin causing very rough patches to appear, this is irreversable and leads to permanent scarring. It also causes internal damage including kidney failure, anemia, nervous disorders, it can also travel through the placenta of a pregnant woman and damage the foetus. Mercury is a heavy metal and thus the body cannot get rid of it, once it is in your body it will be there for ever.
It also causes damage to the wider enviornment. When people use it some of the mercury is washed down the drain. It eventually gets into the rivers and then into the food chain.
This shamefull business must be stopped immediately.

Links:
1:The Observer http://www.observer.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,497227,00.html

2:New Internationalist
http://www.newint.org/issue180/update.htm

3:The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3899316,00.html

4:Independent (UK)
http://www.independent.co.uk/story.jsp?story=15598

5:: Wicklow Today Newspaper
http://www.wicklowtoday.com/features/mercurysoap.htm

6:Sunday Times (South Africa)
http://www.suntimes.co.za/1999/12/12/news/news01.htm

http://www.suntimes.co.za/1999/12/12/news/news32.htm

7: World Health Organisation

http://www.who.int/dsa/cat97/zehc2.htm

8:The Examiner
http://www.examiner.ie/pport/web/ireland/Full_Story/did-sg0quhLqDt3TI.asp

9:Rising Tide

http://www.risingtide.nl/greenpepper/envracism/mercury.html

10: Wednesday, 15th August 2002
STATEMENT FROM IRISH MEDICINES BOARD ON MERCURY SOAPS

The Irish Medicines Board today confirmed that it continues an on-going enforcement programme in conjunction with the Department of Health in relation to a ban on the sale of soaps containing Mercuric Iodide in Ireland. Cosmetic products containing Mercury are prohibited pursuant to the provisions of the European Communities (Cosmetic Products) Regulations, 1997. Since mid-late 2001, the IMB's enforcement unit in co-operation with Environmental Health Officers, undertook an extensive operation to identify all potential premises that could be selling these products. All proprietors were advised of the regulations governing these specific products and of breaches of the law if these products are sold on the Irish market. Significant quantities of the products have been confiscated and retailers have been advised that breaches of the law will result in prosecution. This on-going programme continues, and entails regular visits to retailers. Since the initiation of this action the IMB has found a significant decrease in incidence and availability of these products on the Irish market. The IMB stated that the ongoing monitoring programme is showing significant progress and is a priority. However, it is evident that some importers of such products are attempting to evade the Regulations and continue to smuggle into Ireland from the UK and Nigeria in particular. The IMB is working with a number of state agencies to resolve this problem and welcomes notifications from parties where they believe a breach of the law is occurring. Soaps containing Mercuric Iodide are generally used for skin lightening, and for the treatment of skin ailments. According to the IMB the risks associated with their use outweigh any therapeutic benefit. The side effects from use can include gastrointestinal: nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea and can affect the central nervous system with symptoms manifesting as tremor, sensory and motor defects, mental deterioration, kidney and skin diseases.

ENDS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Siobhan Molloy/Kerryann Conway Tel: 01 6760168, Weber Shandwick FCC. 086-8175066 / 086-8215246