Lead in traditional eyeliners: An investigation into use and sources of exposure in King County, Washington

Traditional eyeliners contain high concentrations of lead, a neurotoxic metal. In King County, Washington (WA), United States (US), several refugee and immigrant populations continue to use these products, some containing up to 800,000 parts per million (ppm) lead. Lead is toxic, especially in young children where it can cause neurological defects and growth delays. We investigated lead in eyeliners used by these communities, including traditional and nontraditional products. We conducted community-based participatory research (CBPR) to understand the use of traditional eyeliners in the local Afghan community. Our study revealed that Afghan community members were largely unaware of the dangers of lead in traditional eyeliners, but once made aware, most were willing to change their behaviors. We found that traditional eyeliners contained significantly higher median lead concentrations (10 ppm) than nontraditional eyeliners (0.06 ppm). Eyeliners manufactured in the US and the European Union (EU) had significantly lower median lead concentrations (0.94 ppm) than those from Afghanistan (29 ppm) and other low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) (2.8 ppm). Some traditional eyeliners labeled as "lead-free" contained very high lead concentrations (up to 610,000 ppm), well above the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) guideline of 10 ppm and the WA safety guideline of 1 ppm. Our findings suggest that traditional eyeliners currently used in the US still contain hazardous materials.