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Talc particles at 100x photographed at McCrone Research course  (C) Daniel FriedmanTalc Particles & Asbestos Content
Photos & properties of talc in body powder & baby powder

Talc & talcum powder properties:

Description of talc used in baby powder & body powder. Photographs of talc particles in transmitted & polarized light - talc under the microscope.

Page top photograph: talc particles at 100x in polarized light, photographed by the author [DF] at McCrone Research in Chicago.

This article series provides a master list of the forms in which asbestos was used, a list of known asbestos-containing materials, and links to detailed articles about individual asbestos-containing products & materials found in buildings and in a wide range of products used in both home and industry.

InspectAPedia tolerates no conflicts of interest. We have no relationship with advertisers, products, or services discussed at this website.

Physical Properties of Talc & its Asbestos Content

Talc particles at 100x photographed at McCrone Research course  (C) Daniel FriedmanTalc or talcum is essentially a clay mineral made of hydrated magnesium silicate.

The chemical formula for talc is H2Mg3(SiO3)4 or Mg3Si4O10(OH)2. Some talc deposits also contain asbestos, so some talc products might also contain that material, depending on where the talc was mined.

Asbestos-containing talc is known to be a respiratory hazard although even pure asbestos-free talc may be hazardous as well. Some of that research is cited in this article.

Watch out: because talc was used in or on a wide variety of products and in some cases is still used in some products including cosmetics (Gordon 2014), asbestos-containing talc might be on or contained in some of those items.

However not all products containing talc contain detectable asbestos, and some other products using talc (rubber band dust) involved so little talc that in our opinion it's not likely that there is a measurable asbestos hazard from their use or presence.

Physically to the touch talc feels soft and oily; the mineral is very soft, having a Mohs scale grade of 1.

One of the earliest providers of talcum powder as a consumer product was Johnson & Johnson's® Baby Powder first marketed in 1894 by that company who was already a producer of medical products. Johnson's® Baby Powder became the progenitor of that famous company's baby products business. A US FDA study (cited below) did not detect asbestos in the company's baby powder.

Some currently-sold body powders such as Gold Bond® Ultimate Comfort Body Powder & Johnson & Johnson's® Baby Powders do not contain talc but other body and baby-powder products do use talk.

Bottom line: the fact that a product contains talc can not by itself be taken as evidence that that product contains asbestos.

The J&J company currently sells multiple powder types and brands including two types of baby powder products for which the company lists these ingredients:

Some of the company's comments about talc and about asbestos in their products are included in this article.

Watch out: OPINION: because some of them contain extremely-small particles in the 1u range or even smaller, body powders containing even asbestos-free talc might be a respiratory irritant or hazard. Be sure that you use such products with care, following the manufacturer's instructions.

Do Current Baby Powder or Body Powder Contain Talc?

Johnson's baby powder that contained talc (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.com Johnson & Johnson's baby powder with talc 1996, Label Text (C) Daniel Friedman at Inspectapedia.com

Maybe. Talc is currently used in some but not all baby and body powders.

Historically talc was the main and sometimes the only ingredient in body powders used by adults as well as in baby powder.

Most older body and baby powders produced by many companies world wide were typically based on talc as the primary ingredient, often with the addition of a fragrance.

[Click to enlarge any image]

The Johnson & Johnson's baby powder shown above as well as at least one of the company's current baby powders indicate talc as the product's principal ingredient. The company, in the references we give here, maintains that the talc in its products is safe.

That company also offers Johnson's Lavender Powder, a cornstarch-based baby powder that also contains lavender and chamomile. The company's web page describing this product, one of five it describes as "baby powder" does not contain the word "baby" on the product front label but the product description refers to baby" as

"... Soothe your baby’s senses after bath time or while diapering with lavender powder. Our cornstarch baby powder with lavender & chamomile is designed to soothe and gently absorb excess moisture on baby’s skin, leaving it dry, fresh and smooth. " - J&J Lavender powder information retrieved 2018/07/15, original source: https://www.johnsonsbaby.com/baby-products/johnsons-lavender-baby-powder?upcean=381370030171

Talc's properties that made it an excellent lubricant also made it a successful body powder as we seen this product from Johnson & Johnson from 1996.

According to the American Cancer Society talc was removed from commercial talc products in the 1970's. Just what is the scope of "commercial products" is unclear.

J&J Baby Powder Talc Content in Recent Product?

In the U.S.2018 and continuing into 2020 a flurry of concern about the risk of asbestos in Johnson & Johnson's baby powder raised a new cloud of dusty powder worth reporting and underdtanding here.

  1. Girion, Leslie, "Special Report: J&J Knew for Decades That Asbestos Lurked in Its Baby Powder", Reuters cited in in The New York Times, 14 December 2018, original source: www.nytimes.com/reuters/2018/12/14/us/14reuters-johnson-johnson-cancer-special-report.html located 2019/11/01 at https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/johnsonandjohnson-cancer/

    Excerpts: A Reuters examination of many of those documents, as well as deposition and trial testimony, shows that from at least 1971 to the early 2000s, the company’s raw talc and finished powders sometimes tested positive for small amounts of asbestos, and that company executives, mine managers, scientists, doctors and lawyers fretted over the problem and how to address it while failing to disclose it to regulators or the public.
    ...
    It didn’t tell the agency that at least three tests by three different labs from 1972 to 1975 had found asbestos in its talc – in one case at levels reported as “rather high.”
    ...
    The World Health Organization and other authorities recognize no safe level of exposure to asbestos. While most people exposed never develop cancer, for some, even small amounts of asbestos are enough to trigger the disease years later. Just how small hasn’t been established. Many plaintiffs allege that the amounts they inhaled when they dusted themselves with tainted talcum powder were enough.
  2. Hsu, Tiffany & Roni Caryn Rabin, "Baby Powder is Recalled for Asbestos", The New York Times, 19 Oct. 2019, p. B1,3.

    Excerpt: Johnson & Johnson, which has spent years insisting that its baby powder is safe, recalled 33,000 bottles of the p;roduct on Friday after the Food and Drug Administration discovered evidence of asbestos, a known carcinogen in one of the bottles.
    ... The decision to pull the baby powder, sourced from China an ddistributed last year ...

    ... The recall was prompted by F.D.A.'s discovery of trace [emphasis ours] levels of chrysotile asbestos in samples from a bottle of baby powder bought from an online retailer. ... lot number 22318RB ... out of an abundance of caution ...

    ... Dr. Susan Nicholson, Johnson & Johnson's vice president of women's healty said ... that the FDA's report showed "an extremely unusual finding" that was "inconsistent with our testing to date."

    ... Several earlier F.D.A. tests, including one in the past year, and another about a decade ago, did not detect any asbestsos in samples of baby powder. ... This year, after consumer tests found asbestos in makeup kits for children sold at Claire's, the F.D.A. followed up with its own tests.It detected the carcinogen in half of 20 products, including Claire's eye showadow and ocmpact powder, JoJo Siwa makeup sold at Claires, and bronzers, blush, and other makeup made by Beauty Plus Global City Color Cosmetics and sold in retail outlets.

    The products were eventually recalled. ... The products are a tiny percentage of the thousands of personal-care products available ...

  3. Reuters, "Recalled Baby Powder Will be Pulled, CVS Says", The New York Times, 25 October 2019 p. B2

    Excerpts: ... CVS said ... it would pull all 22-ounce bottles of Johnson & Johnson baby powder from its stores and onlien to comply with Johnson & Johnson's recall because of possible asbestos contamination ... limited to one lot of baby powder produced and shipped in the United States in 2018
  4. Hsu, Tiffany, "J&J Says Tests Don't Find Asbestos in Baby Powder", The New York Times, 30 October 2019, p. B2

    Excerpts: Johnson & Johnson said ... it did not find asbestos in multiple tests of a bottle of baby powder that the [F.D.A.] said contained trace amounts of the carcinogen.
  5. January 2020: "New Mexico Joins Wave of Talc-Related Lawsuits", The New York Times, The Digest, Health, p. b2, 2020/01/04. f

    This brief article cites the attorney general of New Mexico's accusation that J&J misled consumers, especially children and black and hispanic women, about the safety of its talc products, asserting that the company concealed and failed to warn about dangers "... thought to include lung disease, ovarian cancer, and mesothelioma...". J&J responded that the company's talc product safety is supported by decades of scientific evidence.

Analysis - additional tests did not find asbestos in J&J baby powder samples

By the end of October 2019 J&J reported that both its own tests of "a bottle of baby powder" that the FDA said contained trace amounts of asbestos ["the carcinogen"] found that in fact there was no asbestos in that sample.

Johnson & Johnson's test result finding the very container of its baby powder previously asserted to contain asbestos was asbestos-free was confirmed by another forty-eight tests of samples from the recalled lot of baby powder in tests conducted by two independent laboratories.

These tests occurred after the company had recalled 33,000 bottles of baby powder that had been said to contain "trace levels" of chrysotile asbestos after one such bottle, purchased from a retail outlet, was found to contain the contaminant.

Hsu's NY Times report on 30 October 2019 explained how this happened.

Three samples did initially test positive for asbestos, but after an investigation by the lab the contaminatnio was found to be coming from a portable air conditioner in the room. - (Hsu 2019/10/30)

Opinion - trace levels of asbestos in test samples could come from an outside source

Really? Sure. Separately we have documented the use of asbestos in some air conditioning equipment including the A/C unit itself as well as ductwork. In fact, asbestos was used in air conditioing systems including air conditioner air handlers, ductwork, filters, duct vibration damperners, and as constituents in some wall and window A/C units.

In our OPINION, particularly when the level of asbestos fiber or particle detection is very sensitive it is entirely possible that contaminants from a nearby source could enter an asbestos sample being processed in a forensic lab

. Example: when a lab technician is working carefully and under the protection of a draft hood intended to keep any sample particles from escaping into the laboratory space, the very draft created by the exhaust draft fan might draw a few contaminating particles from a nearby source such as an air conditioner whose components included asbestos in a friable form such as a gasket or insulation.

For details see

ASBESTOS in AIR CONDITIONERS

ASBESTOS DUCT DAMPENERS

ASBESTOS DUCTS, HVAC

TRANSITE ASBESTOS CHIMNEYS, DUCTS, PIPES

July 2020: J&J Stops Selling Talc Baby Powder Only in U.S. and Canada

After decades of fighting off regulators and lawsuits regarding the asbestos content of Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder, the Company finally announced in May that it would “wind down” North American sales of the product.

The company has lost some major court battles in defending the product and is still facing more than 19,000 lawsuits in the U.S.

The company is not taking action to stop the sale of this product in other countries.

In the European Union, cosmetic products with talc have to include the warning ‘keep powder away from children's nose and mouth.’
...

- Source: Occupational Knowledge International Newsletter, July 2020, Occupational Knowledge International, 4444 Geary Boulevard, Suite 208, San Francisco CA 94118 USA, Tel: (415) 221-8900 Website: www.okinternational.org

Does Talc Necessarily Contain Asbestos?

Whether or not talc contains abestos depends principally on the mine from which talc was obtained. Some talc deposits also include naturally-occurring asbestos.

Maybe: or Sometimes, as a common impurity. Often not.

The U.S. FDA's own independent study of the occurrence of asbestos in talc did not detect asbestos in Johnson's Baby Powder. (US FDA information retrieved 2018/07/15 and cited below.)

Here is a screen shot of Johnson & Johnson's information about talc. [Click to enlarge any image]

J&J Talc in Baby Powder 2018 at InspectApedia.com

At a "facts about talc" link in the company's Talc citation the company explains:

The testing methodology used to detect asbestos in cosmetic grade talcum powder was developed by the Personal Care Products, formerly known as the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association (CTFA), Inc., in 1976 and is still used and accepted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The methodology we use for testing Johnson’s Baby Powder exceeds the CFTA industry standard. - source: The Facts on Talcum Powder Safety, web page, retrieved 2018/07/15, original source: http://www.factsabouttalc.com/

Watch out: Even if the talc powder contained no asbestos, the talc itself might be a respiratory health hazard, in part because of its very small particle size. Particles down in the micron range are inhaled very deeply into the lung and are difficult to expel.

There could be another talc hazard: according to a some scholarly studies by experts cited below, talcum powder might cause cancer in the ovaries, particularly if the powder applied to the genital area moves through the vagina, uterus, and fallopian tubes to the ovary.

Photos above and just below show an older container of Johnson's Baby Powder containing Talc. This older J&J Talc-containing baby powder was purchased in New York before 2015 and contains talc along with the product and production codes shown below.

We have no translation of that into a product date but we note that the product label refers the user to the company's website and also provides a consumer information telephone number.

Johnson & Johnson's baby powder - older product - containing talc (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com Johnson & Johnson's baby powder - older product - containing talc (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com

[Click to enlarge any image]

In our photo of the information label for Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder, (C) 1996, the text reads:

Johnson's® The Number One Choice of Hospitals

For baby, use after ever bath and diaper change, to make your baby's skin soft and smooth. JOHNSON's Baby Powder's natural softness helps prevent chafing. For you, use every day to feel soft, fresh, and comfortable.

DIRECTIONS: Shake powder into your hand and smooth onto skin. Store in a cool dry place.

WARNING: For external use only. Keep out of reach of children. Close tightly after use. Do not use on broken skin. Avoid contact with eyes. Keep powder away from child's face to avoid inhalation, which can cause breathing problems.

INGREDIENTS: TALC, FRAGRANCE

Recent Litigation Argues that Talc-containing Baby & Body Powders May be Carcinogenic

Three examples of Johnson's Baby Powder products (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com In July 2018 a Missouri circuit court jury trial awarded $4.14 billion in punitive damages and $550. million in compensatory damages to 22 women and their families who had sued Johnson & Johnson Corporation for failing to warn them about the risk of cancer associated with the company's baby and body powder.

Mark Lanier, an attorney representing the plaintiffs said that Johnson & Johnson had spent years hiding evidence of abestos in some of its talc-based products and that such products should have a warning on the product label.

The Johnson & Johnson company expressed deep disappointment and said it planned to appeal the decision, calling it the verdict an effect of a fundamentally unfair process and expressing confidence that their products do not contain asbestos and do not cause ovarian cancer.

The company did not question the health risks associated with asbestos, but rather said that research on talc's carcinogenicity is inconclusive. - Jsu, Tiffany, "Jury Awards $4.7 Billion IN Talcum Powder Case", The New York Times, 13 July 2018, p. B6.

Really? While the conclusion that talc-containing baby and body powders has been questioned including in recent court cases, some but not all of the studies we cite below (Merritt 2008) provide important findings that suggest at the least, prudent avoidance of the use of asbestos-containing talc.

Illustrations above and below show examples of three J&J baby powder products and their label markings.

In August 2017 in the U.S. a Los Angeles jury awarded $417 million to Eva Echeverria who blamed her terminal cancer illness on Johnson's Baby Powder that she had used for decades, since the age of eleven. The case argued that J&J failed to warn consumers of the cancer risk of using its asbestos-containing baby powder. [The company's current (2017) baby powder does not contain talc - Ed.].

In October4 2017, on appeal Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Maren Nelson, stating that the evidence was insufficient and that the award was excessive [in an example of of self-contradicting viewpoints? - Ed.] vacated the jury's award and granted Johnson & Johnson's request for a new trial.

Also an appeals court in Missouri vacated a $72 million award in a similar case involving Jacqueline Fox of Birmingham AL. Both women died of ovarian cancer.

Johnson & Johnson, according to The Times (cited below) stated that while ovarian cancer is a devastating disease it is not cased by the cosmetic-grade talc used in Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder for decades.

The Times also reported that "the American Cancer Society said that more studies should be done in order to determine whether today's products are safe", and that "the National Cancer Institute said that 'the weight of evidence does not support an association between perineal talc exposure and an increased risk of ovarian cancer.'"

Size of Talc Particles - possible small non-asbestos particle hazards

Talc particles in Johnson's Baby Powder at PM10 and smaller (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.comOur photograph illustrates natural talc particles magnified at 100x, photographed by the author at McCrone Research in Chicago. This is the same particle magnification as shown in the page top photograph of talc particles.

What is the actual size of typical talc particles in baby powder sold in the 1990s? Talc is considered a PM10 particle.

However talc contains smaller particles down to about 1u and larger particles up to about 55u. About 80% of the particles in a talc sample will be comprised of particles from 1-20 microns, with larger particles up to about 55u making up the remaining 20%. (Cen 2007, Fig. 5).

The photograph above was made in transmitted light at 1200x using a POLAM microscope. This lab photograph shows talc particles from Johnson & Johnson's baby powder from a container whose label text was marked ©1996.

In the photo above we have magnified those Johnson's® baby powder talc particles to about 1200x, or 1200 times the actual particle size.

As we illustrate with the two red lines, the largest particle in the photo measures approximately 15u in in its longest direction and 10u in its widest cross-section.

Take a closer look at the other particles in that photo. Clearly some of the talc fragments are much smaller, down in the 1u range. There may be still-smaller particles that are below the limits of detection in light microscopy. Use of SEM or TEM may be required to detect such ultra-small particles.

While some research on small fiberglass particles argues that these very small particles are absorbed or "dissolved" by the body and may not be a health risk, other researchers such as Baan (2007) reached the opposite conclusion.

Johnson's Baby Powder Talc at 1200x in polarized light (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.comBelow is an additional photograph of talc particles from this very sample in polarized light.

Watch out: very small particles, PM 2.5 and smaller, particularly at 1u and smaller, may be un-detetected in bulk, air, or dust samples and so may go un-reported.

In my OPINION this risks a failure to detect what might be important environmental exposures for some conditions. Baan (2007) notes that there can be health hazards from inhaling very small particles of talc (or its contaminants) even for talc that is asbestos-free.

The Working Group evaluated inhaled talc not containing asbestos or asbestiform fibers as not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans, Group 3.

The Working Group noted that prolonged exposure to inhaled particles at sufficiently high concentrations in experimental animals may lead to impairment of normal clearance mechanisms in the alveolar region of the lung, resulting in a continued buildup of particles that eventually leads to excessive lung burdens accompanied by chronic alveolar inflammation.

The inflammatory response may give rise to increased generation of reactive oxygen species, cell injury, cell proliferation, fibrosis, induction of mutations, and, ultimately, cancer.

Since many of these steps also occur in workers in dusty jobs, such as coal miners, data on cancer in animals obtained under conditions of impaired lung clearance were considered relevant to humans.

In addition, impaired lung clearance in rodents exposed to ultrafine particles occurs at much lower mass concentrations than with fine particles, which adds to the human relevance. (Baan 2003)

Asbestos content in talc, Possible Health Hazards of talcum powder, baby powder

I did not detect asbestos in the Johnson's Baby Powder sample that was examined in our lab. I did see the range of particle sizes we discussed above.

Below is another polarized light photo of more talc-based baby powder showing by light variations the structural planes in this material.

Johnson's Baby Powder Talc at 1200x in polarized light (C) Daniel Friedman InspectApedia.com

[Click to enlarge any image]

Watch out: Asbestos occurs naturally in some talc deposits. Talcum powder or talc that contains asbestos is generally accepted as a respiratory hazard and as capable of causing cancer if inhaled.

Where talc is used in current consumer products like baby powder or body powder or cosmetics, one might seek assurance that those products do not contain asbestos

. In fact in the U.S. an FDA test of a number of such products did not detect asbestos in them. Citations are given later in this article and also inReferences or Citations .

Examples of Products Using Talc or Talcum Powder

Three examples of Johnson's Baby Powder products (C) Daniel Friedman at InspectApedia.com Talc was often used both as an ingredient in other products and quite widely as a powder to prevent product materials from sticking together, such as surgical gloves or rubber bands.

Because asbestos occurs naturally in talc, any product or material that included talcum powder on on which talc was spread for any reason, might have been a vehicle for transport of asbestos into the local environment.

That hazard will not be present in products using modern talc substitutes such as corn starch. Examples of just a few of a large number of uses of talc and products on which talcum powder or talc appeared include:

Talc crystals as mined, Wikipedia ret 2018 08 17 orig. source  cited in this article

Photo: a piece of mineral talc, about 10 cm long, as mined, showing talc crystals, retriefed 2018/08/17, original source: Simple English Wikipedia, https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talc#/media/File:Talc.jpg

Really? OPINION: Compared with the extremely-high levels of airborne asbestos to which shipyard workers were exposed in the U.S. in the 1940s, many of whom later developed mesothelioma, and compared with high levels of airborne asbestos-containing dust in some industrial and commercial environments, the airborne dust level from removing a chewing gum wrapper dusted with talc that itself might contain talc as an impurity, is in our OPINION likely to be below the limits of detection.

OPINION: When opening a candy wrapper or a piece of chewing gum or using a rubber band, consumers should not panic about airborne asbestos that may be in some talc powder used on candy wrappers nor rubber bands.

It seems more-likely that such dust is below the limits of detection except in a constructed, closed lab environment.

Research on Talc & Asbestos in Talc & the Role of Perineal Use of Talc in Ovarian Cancer

Lung cancer related X-rays from Kim (2013) cited in this article at InspectApedia.com

Anthophyllite asbestos altering to talc, photo courtesy USGS, cited and used in the NIOSH article cited below at InspectApedia.com (2011)

 




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Reader Comments, Questions & Answers About The Article Above

Below you will find questions and answers previously posted on this page at its page bottom reader comment box.

Reader Q&A - also see RECOMMENDED ARTICLES & FAQs

Question: tests for talc used in matte or low-gloss paints?

I have recently discovered that talc is regularly used in matt paints, and is therefore likely to be present in many households worldwide.

Strangely, in Europe, the manufacturers seem to avoid listing talc and other substances on their safety data sheets, despite it having exposure limits.

I wondered if you have ever tested modern paint containing talc for the presence of asbestos contamination?

Many thanks, - Anonymous by private email 2021/02/17

Moderator reply:

Quite so Anon, a number of research sources include paint as one of the uses of Talc.

I have not had occasion to test paint samples for the presence of talc, inpart because there was not a claim of hazard, though I of course welcome additional research citations and data and am always open to learning something new.

A couple of talc-in-paint citations I like are found below.

Asbestos was used in paints not only for matte or low-gloss finishes, but also as a thickener. Some sources (without authoritative citations) such as mesothelioma lawsuit websites mention that kelly-Moore included asbestos in some of its paint, cement, and surface-texturing products produced in the U.S. up ti 1978.

You will see that the exposure hazards to talc, IF the particular talc product contains asbestos (not all do, it depends on where the talc was mined), occur where the talc is in a powder form easily made airborne or is applied directly to skin in sensitive genital areas (this claim is arugable or at least has been so argued);

While no one with any sense would pretend to give a safety assessment of an arbitrary building about which we have not a shred of information, in general one would expect that there is no detectable, measurable asbestos hazard from a flat finish talc-containing paint on a painted surface in good condition, such as a ceiling or wall, as those surfaces don't release measurable amounts of airborne particulates from their constituents unless damaged, sanded, or demolished. 

Reader follow-up:

Thanks for the reply and the references.

My main concern is that pretty much all houses have some kind of peeling paint, or cracks in paintwork, particularly where skirting boards meet the wall. Also, people regularly sand/fill areas of plaster and paint, unaware of the paint talc content.

I agree that in good condition, any fibre release should be minimal or non-detectable. However, I'm not sure about the level of potential asbestos contamination in industrial vs cosmetic talc.

I have read that cosmetic talc is more refined, yet safety data sheets on industrial talc also seem to say they are asbestos free, so presumably this must be filtered and sampled too.

Moderator reply: little research found on hazards of asbstos-contaminated talc used in flat or matte paints

I agree that sanding or demolishing in particular are likely to release more dust.

I have not found a reference that relates the potential asbestos hazard to level of talc refinement;

Some of the inconsistency about acknowledging talc in products derives from the problem of mining source - e.g. talc in J&J babypowder may not always come from the same mine.

And of course there's the Liticaphobia problem -

Having done a bit of lab work, I can emphasize that you don't find what you don't look for. Even the smallest change in how a microscope is adjusted or a slide is prepared, for example, pops small particles into or out of "existence".

(There may be other sources or uses of asbstos in paint such as in producing fire-retardant paint or "intumescent paints or coatings".)

When searching for research articles on the hazards of asbestos-bearing talc used in paint products, responses are dominanted by the more-widely known hazards from lead paint. But we do find mention of the frequent use of Crocidolite asbestos in paint (as well as a myriad of other products from road paving to woodstoves).

In my OPINION, friability, the ability to produce fine dust containing asbestos is what's critical.

Considering that there is asbestos in some drywall products and in some joint compound, people sanding a ceiling before re-painting would want to beware of and treat as potentially hazardous dyst from demolition or sanding of drywall in any event.

The airborne asbestos from large paint flakes is most-likely hard to even detect unless there is a demolition or aggressive treatment of ceilings and walls in progress.

On 2020-07-13 - by (mod) - postal service workers exposed to talc from rubber bands?

Postal grade rubber bands - some may contain talc cited & discussed at InspectApedia.com photo source: camernproducts.comRe-posting from private email:

[Illustration: Postal Grade bulk rubber bands from cameronpackaging. com - note that we are NOT representing that we have any information about the presence or absence of talc in this bulk postal-grade rubber band package - Ed.]

Anonymous asked:

I was wondering if you might be able to offer some advice?

I worked for several years part time as a postman and would use rubber bands on a daily basis to bundle up mail.

I recently became aware of the talc used in the manufacturing process and this has worried me due to potential asbestos contamination.

We tended to use the same bands for weeks if not longer before replacing them.

I don't recall the band's ever being dusty or any residue on my hands but I recently saw a YouTube video in an Indian rubber band factory and the talc was everywhere. The washing did not seem great either.

I'm wondering whether you think rubber bands would be significant source of asbestos exposure?

Also while looking into this it seems there are millions of women who use talc containing face powders on a daily basis, producing visible dust, yet mesothelioma in women seems very low.

Seems to be very difficult to calculate risk etc.

Moderator reply: possible asbestos exposure from handling talc-coated rubber bands?

Thank you for an interesting question. We have of course not a shred of objective data on this topic so what's left is mirror opinion. It seems to me that although there may have been Trace levels of talc on rubber bands and recurrent use it's not likely that that was producing a measurable asbestos hazard.

OPINION: The greater risk in cases such as of talc on rubber products such as rubber bands or bicycle tire tubes, is probably for industrial workers preparing and packaging those products.

Also, note that "industrial talc" is not identical to the talcum powder found in baby powder or in cosmetics.

Also note that not all talc contains asbestos. So asserting that there might have been a hazardous level of asbestos exposure from prior exposure to talcum powder or talc used on rubber products is a tricky topic to navigate.

That may explain the focus of some research examples cited in the page above and also at the following

Research on Talc & Asbestos in or on Rubber Products

On 2020-05-09 - by (mod) - Concern for asbestos in talc on an inner-tube made in Bangladesh

Re-posting from private email:

I brought a agnite inner tube on amozen .it say made Bangladesh is white powder on inner tube asbestos containing powder brought may 2020 how do I no ? - S.S. by private email 2020/05/03


Moderator reply:

You would need to collect a sample of the dust and have it analyzed by an asbestos test lab.

Search this site for

TEST KIT for DUST, MOLD, PARTICLES: INSTRUCTIONS

Reader follow-up:

Do talc contain asbestos in 2020? - Anon 2020/05/04


Moderator reply:

Some talcs currently for sale might contain asbestos, depending on where the talc was mined.

See ASBESTOS in TALCUM POWDER - above now on this page

On 2018-12-18 - by (mod) - I have used baby powder since i was baby what are the chances of getting mesothelioma?

Joe,

The cancer risk for an individual who used J&J talc is not something for which I can find a single simple answer, but is a question you should discuss with your doctor. She and you know your personal risk factors besides age, such as family history of cancer, exposures to other environmental hazards etc.

The actual presence of asbestos in talc sold by J&J appears to have varied from none detected to extremely low (some researchers chose not to report it at all, claiming the level was too low to be meaningful), to possibly significant - according to conflicting research reports.

Watch out: don't let anxiety about this become its own health risk for you, and more urgently, don't let worry about a statistically unlikely (though I agree horrible) cancer illness to so distract you that you fail to attend far more-likely hazards to life and health.

If there is a risk of ovarian cancer from heavy regular and prolonged use of asbestos-containing talc that risk is likely to be small.

Statistically you're FAR more likely to die in an automobile accident or to suffer serious illness by falling down stairs, perhaps exacerbated by driving an unsafe car or using unsafe stairs missing handrailings and stair guards.

According to the ACS American Cancer Society ( https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer-causes/talcum-powder-and-cancer.html )
Most concerns about a possible link between talcum powder and cancer have been focused on:

Whether people who have long-term exposure to talc particles at work, such as talc miners, are at higher risk of lung cancer from breathing them in.

Whether women who apply talcum powder regularly in the genital area have an increased risk of ovarian cancer.

... Talc that has asbestos is generally accepted as being able to cause cancer if it is inhaled.

Many studies in women have looked at the possible link between talcum powder and cancer of the ovary. Findings have been mixed, with some studies reporting a slightly increased risk and some reporting no increase.

Many case-control studies have found a small increase in risk. But these types of studies can be biased because they often rely on a person’s memory of talc use many years earlier. One prospective cohort study, which would not have the same type of potential bias, has not found an increased risk. A second found a modest increase in risk of one type of ovarian cancer.

For any individual woman, if there is an increased risk, the overall increase is likely to very be small.Many studies in women have looked at the possible link between talcum powder and cancer of the ovary.

Findings have been mixed, with some studies reporting a slightly increased risk and some reporting no increase. Many case-control studies have found a small increase in risk. But these types of studies can be biased because they often rely on a person’s memory of talc use many years earlier. One prospective cohort study, which would not have the same type of potential bias, has not found an increased risk. A second found a modest increase in risk of one type of ovarian cancer.

For any individual woman, if there is an increased risk, the overall increase is likely to very be small.

Recent reports updating the status of asbestos, talc litigation involving Johnson & Johnson:

On 2018-12-18 by manninoj0seph@yahoo.com

I have used baby powder since i was baby what are the chances of getting mesothelioma

i used until i was 45 years old and i am really worried. I am really really worried about the recent j& j baby powder asbestos warning.please help. Thank you joe

On 2018-12-18 - by (mod) - In order for post-shower talcum powder use to have been the cause of ovarian cancer ...

Shelli

you are certainly touching on a topic which you probably knew received a lot of media attention recently including in the New York Times.

Confusing and disturbing were reports conflicting comments and statements about whether or not asbestos was present in talcum powder sold by J&J.

Some of the article quoted very disturbing reports and conflicting interests when it came to funding some of the studies.

separate from those concerns your question is one that's been touched on before.

Neither of us is the medical expert on the topic and should not trust her intuition. It's entirely possible that different body tissues respond differently to fibers are other contaminants.

What the argument you raise is similar to one that has been made by some of the manufacturers.

On 2018-12-16 by ShelliG

In order for post-shower talcum powder use to have been the cause of ovarian cancer: think about it, even with daily use, there was a small quantity of asbestos fibers in the powder, applied in small quantities, then the asbestos fibers have to travel up the reproductive tract to the ovaries and accumulate in enough quantity to cause inflammation and cellular damage over years.

Wouldn’t there also be more peritoneal, vaginal, uterine, and fallopian tube cancer occurrences?

As well as the typical inhalation resultant issues?


...

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