Pithaly

Around 2001, two environmental groups called Toxics link and Vatavaran based in Delhi, did a study on the contents of these chemical colours and published its results in a fact sheet on Holi. This research revealed that Holi colours come in three forms; pastes, dry colours and water colours.[1]

The pastes contain very toxic chemicals that can have severe health effects as follows:

Black contains lead oxide and can cause renal failure.
Green contains copper sulphate and can cause eye allergy, puffiness and temporary blindness.
Silver contains aluminium bromide which is carcinogenic.
Blue contains prussian blue which can lead to contact dermatitis.
Red contains mercury sulphate which is highly toxic and can cause skin cancer.[2]

The dry colours, commonly known as gulals, have two components – a colourant that is toxic and a base which could be either asbestos or silica, both of which cause health problems. Heavy metals contained in the colourants can cause asthma, skin diseases and temporary blindness.[3]

Wet colours, mostly use gentian violet as a colour concentrate which can cause skin discolouration and dermatitis.

These days, Holi colours are sold loosely, on the roads, by small traders who often do not know the source. Sometimes, the colours come in boxes that specifically mention For industrial use only.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holi


Safe Holi colours:

Make your own colours!

The good news, however, is that it is possible to make simple natural colors in one’s own kitchen.

These simple recipes for making natural colours were also freely distributed as part of the Safe Festivals campaign, and children were taught how to make colours through lecture demonstrations in schools.

Here are a few things one can do at home:

* Mix haldi powder with besan for a lovely yellow.
* Slice a beetroot and soak in water for a deep pink.
* Boil Marigold or Tesu flowers in water for yellow colour. The other easy way to get a yellow liquid colour is to soak peels of pomegranate (Anar) overnight.
* For an orange red paste, henna leaves (mehndi) can be dried, powdered and mixed with water.

http://www.kalpavriksh.org/f1/f1.4/GAholi1