The determination of respirable particles in talcum powder

Russell, Robert Scott; Merz, Reiner; Sherman, W.T.; Sivertson, J.N.

doi:10.1016/0015-6264(79)90208-6

Cited by 58 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…However, the heavy application was within the ranges published by Russell of 8.84¡8.32 g and Aylott of 2.5¡12.5 g. The ''talcing times,'' or the duration of talcum powder application, were approximately 55 seconds for the shaker test and approximately 57 seconds for the puff applicator test. 44,45 These were within the ranges published by Russell of 83¡33 seconds and Aylott of 28-78 seconds for adult dusting. 44,45 Laboratories A and B determined that the contaminated talcum powder released inhalable asbestos into the air.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…44,45 These were within the ranges published by Russell of 83¡33 seconds and Aylott of 28-78 seconds for adult dusting. 44,45 Laboratories A and B determined that the contaminated talcum powder released inhalable asbestos into the air. Another issue in this study was the documentation and identification of cleavage fragments.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…The space used by Russell was 171 cubic feet and the space used by Aylott was between 152 and 163 cubic feet. The amount of material used in the shaker test was 0.37 g. The amount used for the puff applicator test was 6.25 g. 44,45 The shaker test was a light application and the puff a heavy application. However, the heavy application was within the ranges published by Russell of 8.84¡8.32 g and Aylott of 2.5¡12.5 g. The ''talcing times,'' or the duration of talcum powder application, were approximately 55 seconds for the shaker test and approximately 57 seconds for the puff applicator test.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Asbestos in commercial cosmetic talcum powder as a cause of mesothelioma in women

Gordon

FitzGerald²,

Millette³

2014

International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health

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Background: Cosmetic talcum powder products have been used for decades. The inhalation of talc may cause lung fibrosis in the form of granulomatose nodules called talcosis. Exposure to talc has also been suggested as a causative factor in the development of ovarian carcinomas, gynecological tumors, and mesothelioma. Purpose: To investigate one historic brand of cosmetic talcum powder associated with mesothelioma in women. Methods: Transmission electron microscope (TEM) formvar-coated grids were prepared with concentrations of one brand of talcum powder directly, on filters, from air collections on filters in glovebox and simulated bathroom exposures and human fiber burden analyses. The grids were analyzed on an analytic TEM using energy-dispersive spectrometer (EDS) and selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) to determine asbestos fiber number and type.Results: This brand of talcum powder contained asbestos and the application of talcum powder released inhalable asbestos fibers. Lung and lymph node tissues removed at autopsy revealed pleural mesothelioma. Digestions of the tissues were found to contain anthophyllite and tremolite asbestos. Discussion: Through many applications of this particular brand of talcum powder, the deceased inhaled asbestos fibers, which then accumulated in her lungs and likely caused or contributed to her mesothelioma as well as other women with the same scenario.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Asbestos in commercial cosmetic talcum powder as a cause of mesothelioma in women

Gordon

FitzGerald²,

Millette³

2014

International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health

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“…The initial literature search returned 590 results. In total, seven of these studies contained measured airborne concentration data associated with the consumer use of cosmetic talcum powder products (Anderson, Sheehan, Kalmes, & Griffin, ; Aylott, Byrne, Middleton, & Roberts, ; Dement, Shuler, & Zumwalde, ; Gordon, Fitzgerald, & Millette, ; Hildick‐Smith, ; Moon et al., ; Russell, Merz, Sherman, & Sivertson, ). Of the studies identified, four studies presented measured airborne dust concentration data and two presented measured airborne fiber concentration data.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Airborne Asbestos Exposure and Risk Associated with the Historical Use of Cosmetic Talcum Powder Products

Burns¹,

Barlow²,

Banducci³

et al. 2019

Risk Analysis

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Over time, concerns have been raised regarding the potential for human exposure and risk from asbestos in cosmetic-talc-containing consumer products. In 1985, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) conducted a risk assessment evaluating the potential inhalation asbestos exposure associated with the cosmetic talc consumer use scenario of powdering an infant during diapering, and found that risks were below levels associated with background asbestos exposures and risk. However, given the scope and age of the FDA's assessment, it was unknown whether the agency's conclusions remained relevant to current risk assessment practices, talc application scenarios, and exposure data. This analysis updates the previous FDA assessment by incorporating the current published exposure literature associated with consumer use of talcum powder and using the current U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) nonoccupational asbestos risk assessment approach to estimate potential cumulative asbestos exposure and risk for four use scenarios: (1) infant exposure during diapering; (2) adult exposure from infant diapering; (3) adult exposure from face powdering; and (4) adult exposure from body powdering. The estimated range of cumulative asbestos exposure potential for all scenarios (assuming an asbestos content of 0.1%) ranged from 0.0000021 to 0.0096 f/cc-yr and resulted in risk estimates that were within or below EPA's acceptable target risk levels. Consistent with the original FDA findings, exposure and corresponding health risk in this range were orders of magnitude below upper-bound estimates of cumulative asbestos exposure and risk at ambient levels, which have not been associated with increased incidence of asbestos-related disease.

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“…However, he has only referenced two studies, Gordon, Fitzgerald, & Millette, , as well as an unpublished report by Longo and colleagues in 2017. Our data‐driven assessment was based on seven studies of cosmetic talc airborne exposure fiber and dust concentrations, including the single published study mentioned by Dr. Finkelstein (i.e., Gordon et al, ) (Anderson, Sheehan, Kalmes, & Griffin, ; Aylott, Byrne, Middleton, & Roberts, ; Dement, Shuler, & Zumwalde, ; Gordon, Fitzgerald, & Millette, ; Hildick‐Smith, ; Moon et al, ; Russell, Merz, Sherman, & Sivertson, ). The report by Longo et al.…”

Section: Studies With Direct Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response to Letter to the Editor

Burns¹,

Barlow²,

Banducci³

et al. 2019

Risk Analysis

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We appreciate Dr. Finkelstein's interest in our paper, however, he has misinterpreted some key points of our publication. The purpose of our assessment was to take a conservative regulatory approach in the interest of public health to assess the potential for airborne asbestos exposure associated with consumer use of cosmetic talc under typical use scenarios. We reject Dr. Finkelstein's assertion that we have dramatically underestimated exposure and risk associated with the typical use of cosmetic talcum powder products. As stated in our study, we relied on the approach used by the FDA in their own 1985 risk assessment of cosmetic talcum powder to determine the airborne fiber content of cosmetic talc dust during application; the FDA referenced their own testing data in this analysis and characterized it as a "worst case". Furthermore, Dr. Finkelstein's conclusions are not supported by the wealth of publicly available data on the subject.

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The determination of respirable particles in talcum powder

Cited by 58 publications

References 7 publications

Asbestos in commercial cosmetic talcum powder as a cause of mesothelioma in women

Asbestos in commercial cosmetic talcum powder as a cause of mesothelioma in women

Potential Airborne Asbestos Exposure and Risk Associated with the Historical Use of Cosmetic Talcum Powder Products

Response to Letter to the Editor

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