It is nice to visit places that are very inviting, seeing the flowing water from the top of the mountain especially with green environment. But in an inquisitive manner and scientific view, are you aware how safe the water where you enjoyed swimming and expose more or less hundred percent of your external parts?

Contamination of the environment with chemical contents has been one of the important concerns in scientific research. Exposure to certain levels of harmful chemicals damages the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immunity systems of humans of all ages (Darbha et al., 2007).

One of the sources of harms are cosmetics products which contain lead and mercury. These include creams, cleansing milk, shampoos, hair dyes, eye shadows, rouge, lipsticks, powders, and toothpaste [(Al-Saleh & N, 2009); (Organization, 2011)].

In the article of (Stewart, 2016-01-19), it was statistically cited that beauty product industries continue to grow year after year. The makeup market has an annual growth rate of 3.7 percent between 2009 and 2013 and is expected to grow within the pattern of 3.8 percent for the period of 2013-2018. In terms of the skincare and lotions, they have the largest category in the global cosmetics industry, accounting to 35.3 percent of the global market in 2014; and hair care is amounted at 24 percent of the industry and is estimated to grow at annual rate of 2 percent.

Another influencing element which is dispersed into the water is the presence of cadmium that can be drawn from usage of phosphate fertilizers, sewage and sludge, various industrial use such as nickel cadmium batteries, plating, pigments, and plastics (Health & Education, 2013-05-11).

With those aforementioned facts, human impacts to the environment are in simple ways. It is evident that a common effect is the decreased water quality (Martonas, 2017). If we continue to use the products at a high rate, we will unceasingly endure our water surface. Imagine a basin with a lot of contaminants and then you suddenly dip your hand for several minutes, what do you think will happen?

This paper intends to (1) measure the level of cadmium, lead present in Kawasan Waterfalls of Badian, Cebu City. Part of its purpose is to (2) trace whether the presence of the said chemical contents may lead to certain skin diseases and other ailments and further (2) provide results to the tourists that suggest that the place has potentially good water quality, which makes this study very significant. Kawasan was chosen as the research environment because it has been a recipient of countless country-wide and international recognition. For the years 2000, 2001, and 2002 it is one of the cleanest inland body of water in the Philippines in the river category, however, in the successive years the recognition was stopped.

Environmental exposure to low levels of lead has been associated with a wide range of metabolic disorders and neuropsychological deficits [(N.A.S., 1980); (E.P.A., 1986)]. The well-known toxic (metabolic and cellular) effects of lead in asymptomatic children include (i) impairments in haeme, vitamin D and red blood cell nucleotide metabolism, (ii) perturbations of calcium homeostasis in the hepatocytes, bone cells and brain cells, and (iii) neurological damage [(Rosen, 1985); (Lansdown and Yule, 1986)].

It is tested in the laboratory that lead is a toxicant that is known to induce multiple organ damage, even at lower levels of exposure. This metal is also classified as either "known" or "probable" human carcinogens based on epidemiological and experimental studies showing an association between exposure and cancer incidence in humans and animals [(Tchounwou et al., 2004); (Yedjou & Tchounwou, 2008)].

Exposure to lead occurs mainly via inhalation of lead-contaminated dust particles or aerosols, and ingestion of lead-contaminated food, water, and paints [(Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR, n.d.); (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR, 1999)].

Adults absorb 35 to 50 percent of lead through drinking water and the absorption rate for children may be greater than 50 percent. Lead absorption is influenced by factors such as age and physiological status. In the human body, the greatest percentage of lead is taken into the kidney, followed by the liver and the other soft tissues such as heart and brain, however, the lead in the skeleton represents the major body fraction (Flora et al., 2006). The nervous system is the most vulnerable target of lead poisoning. Headache, poor attention spam, irritability, loss of memory and dullness are the early symptoms of the effects of lead exposure on the central nervous system (CDC 2001).

Mercury is of the known elements in the periodic table because of its unique characteristic which is liquid at room temperature. It is very useful to objects that changes temperature at a certain time interval but has no significant role on biological function (Gochfeld, 2003).

A case study of (A & HWH, 2006) showed that exposure to mercury affects the kidney and the central nervous system whether it is inhaled or in permeation.

The values of heavy metal content of the sample water are shown in the Table 1.

It can be gleaned from the table that the mean concentration of Cadmium is less than 0.004 mg/ L and Lead is less than 0.057 mg/ L respectively present in the water of Kawasan falls in Badian, Cebu. These values are within the permissible concentrations of heavy metals in natural waters for the protection of human health as set by the World Health Organization (WHO). These results depicted that the presence of these metals in the water will not pose any health hazard to anyone in and around the river falls and even to any tourist in the place who wants to plunge into its azure water as far as cadmium and lead concentration are concerned.

However, the mean concentration of mercury on the water is 0. 3906 mg/ L; this value is beyond the permissible concentrations and therefore poses a hazard to anyone in the community. Mercury is a very toxic substance that people can be exposed to in several ways. If it is swallowed, it mostly passes through the body and very little is absorbed. If touched, a small amount may pass through the skin, but not usually enough to harm a person. Mercury is the most harmful when vapors that are released are breathed in. Since mercury accumulates in the body, a single, exposure to a high concentration of mercury can have very serious effects; hence even small amounts may cause serious health problems.

Generally, it may have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, and on lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes. Acute effects include headache, chills, fever, chest tightness, coughs, hand tremors, nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Chronic or longer term exposure to mercury causes personality change, decreased vision or hearing peripheral nerve damage and elevated blood pressure. Mercury overload can even lead to major neurological conditions like Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

Hence, there is a need for strengthening measures to prevent and to control the release of these substances into the natural water. Shower facilities should be provided in the place and swimmers should wash first before plunging into the river. In addition, as part of an ongoing education and training effort, communicate all information on the health and safety hazards of mercury to potentially exposed individuals on the place. It is also suggested to conduct further concentration analysis of other metals present in the said water falls.