Radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products: regulatory controls

We provide an overview of the issue of the regulatory control of cosmetics and healthcare products that intentionally contain added radioactivity, the suggested health benefits from such product utilisation being firmly within the realm of the unproven. Examples are offered of control practices in s...

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Main Authors: Abu Hanifah, N. Z. H., Hashim, S., Hassan, H. J., Yusof, N. N., Bradley, D. A.
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier Ltd. 2021
Subjects:
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author Abu Hanifah, N. Z. H.
Hashim, S.
Hassan, H. J.
Yusof, N. N.
Bradley, D. A.
author_facet Abu Hanifah, N. Z. H.
Hashim, S.
Hassan, H. J.
Yusof, N. N.
Bradley, D. A.
author_sort Abu Hanifah, N. Z. H.
collection ePrints
description We provide an overview of the issue of the regulatory control of cosmetics and healthcare products that intentionally contain added radioactivity, the suggested health benefits from such product utilisation being firmly within the realm of the unproven. Examples are offered of control practices in several countries. Access to the products depends strongly on national controls. This apart, there is a general lacking in public awareness of such radioactive content and the potential for harm in the circumstance of daily exposure to such media. With prolonged use of these adding to cancer risk, at the manufacturing stage it is suggested that the products should be subject to regulatory inspection and certification, crucial in reducing radiation exposure. In particular, based on published data from a number of European and Asian countries, review is made of such cosmetic and healthcare products, also including estimates of the effective doses implied from the utilisation of these. The information concerns the progeny of the primordial radionuclides 238U, 232Th, and 40K, encompassing a comparatively large range of values, from 1.7×10-4 to 2.8×103 Bq per kg for 238U, 3×10-5 to 1.2×104 Bq per kg for 232Th and 1.1×10-3 to 9.5×102 for 40K. In many countries standards and regulations have been implemented typically with authority over exemptions for radioactive materials in cosmetic and healthcare products. In the absence of harmonised regulations, transnational access and the use of such cosmetic and healthcare products will remain a worldwide concern.
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spelling utm.eprints-954392022-05-31T12:38:12Z http://eprints.utm.my/95439/ Radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products: regulatory controls Abu Hanifah, N. Z. H. Hashim, S. Hassan, H. J. Yusof, N. N. Bradley, D. A. QC Physics We provide an overview of the issue of the regulatory control of cosmetics and healthcare products that intentionally contain added radioactivity, the suggested health benefits from such product utilisation being firmly within the realm of the unproven. Examples are offered of control practices in several countries. Access to the products depends strongly on national controls. This apart, there is a general lacking in public awareness of such radioactive content and the potential for harm in the circumstance of daily exposure to such media. With prolonged use of these adding to cancer risk, at the manufacturing stage it is suggested that the products should be subject to regulatory inspection and certification, crucial in reducing radiation exposure. In particular, based on published data from a number of European and Asian countries, review is made of such cosmetic and healthcare products, also including estimates of the effective doses implied from the utilisation of these. The information concerns the progeny of the primordial radionuclides 238U, 232Th, and 40K, encompassing a comparatively large range of values, from 1.7×10-4 to 2.8×103 Bq per kg for 238U, 3×10-5 to 1.2×104 Bq per kg for 232Th and 1.1×10-3 to 9.5×102 for 40K. In many countries standards and regulations have been implemented typically with authority over exemptions for radioactive materials in cosmetic and healthcare products. In the absence of harmonised regulations, transnational access and the use of such cosmetic and healthcare products will remain a worldwide concern. Elsevier Ltd. 2021-11 Article PeerReviewed Abu Hanifah, N. Z. H. and Hashim, S. and Hassan, H. J. and Yusof, N. N. and Bradley, D. A. (2021) Radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products: regulatory controls. Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 188 . ISSN 0969-806X http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.radphyschem.2021.109673 DOI: 10.1016/j.radphyschem.2021.109673
spellingShingle QC Physics
Abu Hanifah, N. Z. H.
Hashim, S.
Hassan, H. J.
Yusof, N. N.
Bradley, D. A.
Radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products: regulatory controls
title Radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products: regulatory controls
title_full Radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products: regulatory controls
title_fullStr Radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products: regulatory controls
title_full_unstemmed Radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products: regulatory controls
title_short Radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products: regulatory controls
title_sort radioactive material in cosmetic and healthcare products regulatory controls
topic QC Physics
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