Safety hearing after asbestos found in baby powder, cosmetics
Washington-- In January, Johnson & Johnson settled a lawsuit that asbestos-laced baby powder caused cancer. This is third case they’ve addressed, one ending in a $4.7 billion settlement and the other with jurors rejecting another woman’s claim that her ovarian cancer was caused by J&J’s talc-based powder.
Now, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) is getting involved. On Tuesday, they held a hearing on testing methods used to ensure talc based products, such as cosmetics and talc baby powder, are effective. The hearing comes after multiple recalls of these products for asbestos contamination.
The meeting on talc, the first in nearly fifty years, is looking at scientific data related to how these products are tested for asbestos, a key part of keeping it out of the product.
Talc is often found in the same mines as asbestos, which is how the products get contaminated. The known carcingoen appears as tiny fibers that can get inhaled, causing a variety of cancers including mesothelioma, lung cancer, and ovarian cancer.
For years, according to the convened panel, talc industry’s standard testing methods “long-recognized shortcomings in specificity and sensitivity.” That problem is becoming clearer as more products appear with contamination.
ASBESTOS APPEARING IN COSMETICS, BABY POWDER
In March of 2018, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, a consumer advocacy organization, found asbestos in kid’s makeup made by Claire’s such as Contour Palette, Shadow and Highlight, and Compact Powder. That finding was later confirmed by the European Union, who demanded a complete recall of the contaminated makeup. Eventually, the company complied. In 2019, after the FDA found asbestos in JoJo Siwa branded makeup, it was recalled too.
In the case of Johnson & Johnson, they have contended for years their baby powder was safe as they challenge thousands of lawsuits to the contrary. A Reuters investigation revealed that between 1972 and 1975, three different lab tests revealed asbestos in its talc.
This information came too late for Darlene Coker, who dropped her lawsuit of the company in 1999. At the time, she was dying from mesothelioma. And while she beat the odds, living for a decade past the diagnosis. During the suit, her lawyer has asked J&J to hand over critical information in that suit including test results and other internal documents. They refused.
The documents came too late for Darlene, who died in 2009. But maybe not others who are still suing the company.
TESTING NEEDS UPDATING
The industry released a statement about Tuesday’s hearing saying they were looking forward to a “thorough review of the most effective and reliable ways to test for asbestos in cosmetic talc.”
Still, they objected to many recommendations from an expert panel. Maybe most significant among them is that smaller particles that the industry would technically not categorize as asbestos, be included in any testing and safety measures. The report noted such similar minerals may cause “similar pathological outcomes”.
These elongated mineral particles, EMPs as they are known, all have the ability to trigger cancer development according to Christopher Weis of the National Institute of Environmental Health. At the hearing he noted, “Short EMPs are not conventionally counted or included in lab reports. As a toxicologist, this is unacceptable.”
While the FDA considers a path forward, legislation is also moving in Congress. The Asebstos Disease Awarenss Organization (ADAO) is calling for passage of the Alan Reinstein Asbestos Now Act (ARBAN) (H.R. 1603). The legislation would ban the importation, mining and use of asbestos products in the United States.
Linda Reinstein, ADAO’s executive director and co-founder, said, “With strong-bipartisan support and the backing of the nation’s leading asbestos experts, we need to bring ARBAN to the House floor for passage without delay.”
The legislation was passed with bipartisan support out of the House Energy & Commerce committee in November 2019. It now awaits a full House vote.
