How long has lead in soil and groundwater been regulated? Since environmental regulations first came out. So, imagine my surprise when I learned that in December (yes – last month), the FDA issued GUIDANCE for the lead concentration in lipstick.
FDA has suggested that lipstick contain no more than 10 ppm lead, stating “[w]e determined that exposure to 10 ppm lead from incidental ingestion of cosmetic lip products is very small and cannot be measured in routine blood testing.”
Compare that to environmental regulations for lead. TCEQ has set the residential lead concentration in soil to protect leaching into groundwater at 3 ppm.
So, explain to me why it’s okay to have 10 ppm in lipstick that will be ingested, but it is not okay to have 3 ppm lead soil that could leach and then get diluted in groundwater? Is 10 ppm too high or is 3 ppm too low?
Rant over.