9th May 2013 Colombo,

Mr. Hemantha Withanage, Executive Director of the Centre for Environmental Justice said that “CDDA has approved number of whitening creams with high levels of mercury as high as 30,000 ppm in the past, without considering the safety of the consumers. It was found that out of 40 samples tested, 25 of them have some levels of mercury and few among them have very dangerous levels.”

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CEJ found high Mercury levels in Skin Whitening creams

21st January 2013 Colombo, Today the Centre for Environmental Justice/Friends of the Earth Sri Lanka revealed that its recent research finding shows very high levels of Mercury in the SKIN WHITENING CREAM available in the Sri Lankan market. The highest mercury level was recorded as 30167 ppm in PAI MEI WHITENING SPOT CREAM imported from China. Meanwhile CAIKE RED GINSENG CREAM imported from China recorded19699 ppm and XIN JIAOLI CREAM imported from China recorded 1560 ppm. Few local brands also recorded low levels of Mercury. The report recommends that the Health Authorities should ban those poisonous creams and suggest consumers to beware of those creams.

Read Press Release Read the full research paper

CEJ commemorates "NO pesticide use day" -2012

Centre for Environmental Justice together with Sri Lanka Nature Group organised a media event and book launching on the 3rd December 2012 at the HARTI, Colombo to mark the “Global No Pesticides Use Day”. This day was initiated in 1998, by the Pesticide Action Network to commemorate the world’s worst chemical and industrial disaster in 1984. A Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal(India) exploded and released a lethal gas (methyl isocyanate) that causing more than 500,000 injured and 20,000 deaths in the years since. A petition signed by the people affected with the Chronic Kidney Disease unidentified etiology(CKDue) handed over to the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Agriculture requesting proper healthcare for the several thousands of CKDue patients and take actions againts dirty pesticides. Senior Minister of Science and Technology, Prof Tissa Vitarana joined the occassion.

CEJ holds the first National Symposium

23rd November 2012, Today CEJ holds its first National Symposium on " The Potential Health and Environmental Impacts of Exposure to Hazardous Natural and Man-made Chemicals and their Proper Management" in collaboration with the Department of Zoology, University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Download the proceedings here.

19th October 2012, Colombo. Today the Dailymirror reported that National Water Resources Board will ammend its Act to tax drinking water wells. Once ammend, Sri Lankans who dig traditional or tube wells to obtain water for drinking, agriculture will have to obtain an annual permit from the Water Resources Board (WRB) at fees ranging from Rs.7,500 to Rs.15,000.

Tax on drinking wells The Dailymirror

Opposing to this attempt, Centre for Environmental Justice and other organisation say"taxing the common citizens for drinking water is a gross violation of the human rights." Civil Society organisations

02nd October 2012, (Sri Lanka) the European Union (EU) funded IPEN Asian Lead Paint Elimination Project, launched a special event Yesterday, October 2nd  2012 (Tuesday), at Gall Face Hotel in Colombo 03. The Project aims at eliminating lead in paint and raising widespread awareness among business entrepreneurs and consumers about the adverse human health impacts of lead-based decorative paints, particularly on the health of children under six years old.

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16th August 2012, Colombo. Today Centre for Science and Environment, a leading environmental organisation in India released the report entitled "Environmental contamination and its association with Chronic Kidney Disease of Unknown Etiology in North Central Region of Sri Lanka".

The research was done in collboration with the Centre for Environmental Justice. The findings shows that water consume by the majority people in the affected area does not meet the potable water standards especially the water from the tube wells and the dug wells. Hon. Minister Dinesh Gunawardana participated this occation and the event was organised by the Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage.