Eliminating Mercury Skin Lightening Products

This document outlines a UNEP-implemented, GEF-funded project with WHO and BRI to eliminate mercury in skin-lightening products in Jamaica, Gabon, and Sri Lanka, summarizing context, risks, methods, and progress. It describes mercury’s toxicity, exposure pathways, and environmental contamination; reviews legal controls under the Minamata Convention, including a ban above 1 ppm and, from 2025, a prohibition except for certain eye-area preservatives. It details outcomes on regulation, market monitoring, and global awareness; presents BRI’s prior testing and planned two-phase sampling with XRF screening and DMA analysis.