Hindus utilise sindoor, a powder that has been related to childhood lead poisoning when accidentally consumed, for religious and cultural purposes.

Hindus utilise sindoor, an orange or red powder, for ceremonial and cultural purposes. Married women can display their marital status and wish for their spouses to live long lives by wearing sindoor in the section of their hair. 

In addition to men or children, women may also wear sindoor as a dot (bindi) on their forehead for aesthetic reasons or for religious reasons. 

Manufacturers may add lead tetroxide to give it its unique red hue (red lead). Lead among other health impacts in children can result in behavioural problems and cognitive deficiencies;

Lead in samples of sindoor was examined by the Rutgers University Trace Element and Mineral Research Laboratory. If samples contained 1.0 micrograms or more of lead per gramme, they were deemed positive for lead content.

We employed atomic absorption spectrophotometry with an electrothermally heated graphite atomizer, which is described in more detail elsewhere.

With a lower limit of detection of 0.004 micrograms per gramme of lead, samples were conducted in duplicate.