Document 2633Yp0Nd8nzmD8RaLjM08Qp

Fibrous and Mineral Content of Cosmetic Talcum Products L. J. CRALLEY, Ph.D., M. M. KEY, M.D., D. H. GROTH, M.D., W. S. LAINHART, M.D., and R. M. LIGO, M.D. Occupational Health Program, National Center jor Urban and Industrial Health, 1014 Broadway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 & In searching for sources of fibers ubiquitous to our everyday environment and of respirable size, the authors examined 22 talcum products commonly available on retail shelves and found fiber contents ranging from 8 to 30% by count, with an average of 19%. Fibrous particulates were generally under 1.0 u in diameter with lengths ranging from 1.5 to 6.0 /x. From 0.3 to 3.0% quartz was found in 21 of the samples and the remaining sample had 54.4% quartz. The samples were also analyzed for metals; with four exceptions, the levels of cobalt, nickel, chromium and manganese were low. Further research will be needed to assess the significance of these findings. America; To Prod ~D EPORTS OF FINDING pulm o n ary -Cv fibrous bodies, previously referred to as "asbestos" and now as "ferruginous" bodies, in the lungs of persons coming to autopsy in hospitals in a number of cities have recently been increasing. The first report of these morphologically distinctive fibrous bodies in the sputum and lungs of asbestos workers was made in 1906 by Marchand.1 Current inter est dates from 1963 when Thompson et air found these fibrous bodies in the lungs in 26.4% of the autopsies in a series of examina tions in Cape Town. Subsequent investiga tions''' provide evidence that the occurrence of these bodies in the lungs of urban residents is not restricted to those in isolated localities and is not a one-time chance observation. The identity of the fibrous core of these coated bodies, however, was never determined by the investigators. The fibers were routinelyconsidered as asbestos bodies on the basis of their morphological structure. In searching for the sources of these ubiqui tous fibers, Cralley el alp reported that tal cum powder contained a significant percent- Presented at the A m erican Industrial Hygiene C onference M ay 13-17, 1968, St. Louis, M issouri. age of respirable fibers and was a potential source of the ferruginous bodies observed in the lungs of humans. This observation led to further study to characterize cosmetic talcum products. The major purpose of the investigation re ported here was to develop and present data on some of the constituents found in cosmetic talcum products and to discuss their health aspects in the light of today's knowledge. It is not our intent to make a general appraisal of health factors in the use of talcum prod ucts because of the many variables involved and the limited data available on the con sumption of various "sources of talcs" in the formulation and use of cosmetic talcum prod ucts. The potential health aspects of some ol the data, however, are discussed. Twenty-two cosmetic talcum products irepresenting body powder, bath powder, and all purpose powder) purchased off-the-shelf, were analyzed for fibrous content, selected metal*, and quartz. The data and a discussion of their possible significance follow. Analysis of Talcum Products Talc is a natural mineral, hydrous magne sium silicate, with the general formula (OHV MgjSqC hydrothe tremolitc ultrabasi the then mites.1"'1 deposits mula an mineralo tain van pvrophyl terial fre The de amounts chromiut erais, as he basic; tion of t; chalk, st taese, a piginen ts The p age bv ci hues wer | urn in \ an "AA' with a potential served in ion led to ti -lcunt gation resent dam i cosmetic eir health vledge. 1> appraisal um prod s involved , the con ics" in the cum prodof some o! iducts fmler, and ah shelf, "tic :ed metalon of then ,us rnagne- ula (OHV- American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal 351 T able I Designated Analyses of Cosmetic Talcum Products % Talcum % Free P ro d u ct N o. F ibers SiCH 1 19 0.3 2 21 0.4 3 23 0.2 4 19 2.2 5 30 0.6 6 18 1.5 7 14 2.1 8 19 3.6 9 21 53.4 10 8 0.9 n 8 1.4 12 25 1.3 13 26 1.7 14 28 1.3 15 28 1.9 16 12 1.2 17 13 1.7 18 16 0.4 19 18 1.0 20 16 1.2 21 25 3.3 22 14 0.5 Co 13 <10 <10 67 <10 21 ND <9 <11 25 18 10 ND <10 <10 <11 <10 16 <10 22 10 14 ppm * C r N 9 <10 <10 240 <10 14 <10 329 ND <12 22 13 <10 10 <10 <11 10 <9 <10 10 9 1170 13 <10 20 1270 14 16 17 479 <10 24 20 17 <10 <10 16 16 19 14 21 29 19 1210 M icrogram of m etal per gram of sample. M illigram of elem ent per gram of sample. Mn 16 23 78 55 <10 13 14 45 14 33 61 41 19 26 24 62 70 18 16 50 26 84 Zr Ti <10 " " " " 20 <10 * 30 <10 " " " 0.9 0.5 0.3 0.8 0.2 0.1 0.4 0.3 20.0 30.0 20.0 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.3 10.0 10.0 0.5 0.7 0.8 0.6 0.3 m g/gm #* Zn Fe Mg 3i N D 20 5 10 ND 7 40 30 ND 6 " 15 " in " 15 ND 8 40 12 10 50 ND 10 " 10 " 10 " 10 20 20 5 15 ND 10 40 10 5 10 N D 30 >10 >10 0.5 >10 AI 50 6 5 40 5 60 5 3 >100 30 40 8 10 15 9 15 12 40 6 40 10 4 Mg3Si4Oi0. Talc mineral is formed by the hydrothermal alteration of serpentine and iremolite or directly from unserpentinized ultrabasic rocks. Talc may also be formed by the thermal metamorphism of silicous dolo mites.10' 12 The characteristics of the mineral deposits vary widely from the pure talc for mula and from each other according to the mineralogy involved. Some deposits may con tain varying amounts of tremolite, chrysotile, Pyrophylite, or serpentine, or other basic ma terial from which the talc may be derived. The deposits may also contain varying amounts of metals such as iron, nickel, cobalt, chromium, and manganese as associated min erals, as well as silica. Cosmetic talcum may he basically pure talc or may be a formula tion of talc with other materials such as clay, 'halk, stearates, etc. Zinc, titanium, man ganese, and iron compounds may be added as pigments and opacifiers. The particle-size distribution and percent'1"e hy count of fibers in the talcum particuates were determined by dispersing the tal1"m in water, filtering the mixture through in AA" membrane filter, and measuring "'th a phase contrast microscope at 430 magnification. The percentage of free silica was determined by x-ray diffraction. Cobalt, chromium, nickel, and manganese were deter mined by means of atomic absorption spectro photometry. Zirconium, titanium, zinc, iron, and magnesium were determined by means of semi-quantitative emission spectrography. Table I gives analytical data on 22 differ ent cosmetic talcum products. Figures 1 and 2 are representative photomicrographs of two talcum specimens showing the presence of fibers. Size Distribution of Talcum Particulates Seven of the twenty-two talcum products were selected for size-distribution measure ments of the fibrous and non-fibrous particu late components. The diameter of 80 to 95% of all the par ticulates in these samples was under 5.0 microns (/x). The median of the diameter of the non-fibrous particulates in the seven prod ucts ranged from 0.7 to 2.0 n, with a median average around 1.0 i. A fiber is defined as a particulate having at least a 1:3 ratio of diameter to length. The fibrous particulates in the seven products were July-August, 1968 F ig u r e 1. Photomicrograph of talcum specimen showing presence of fibers (430 X ), F ig u r e 2. Photomicrograph of talcum specimen showing presence of fibers (430 X ), generally under 1.0 g. in diameter, with lengths ranging from 1.5 to 6.0 /r. The 22 talcum products analyzed showed fiber contents ranging from 8 to 30% by count of the total talcum particulates with an average of 19%. Although the specific fibrous materials were not identified, they were predominantly fibrous talc, as shown by x-ray diffraction, with the probable presence in minor amounts of other fibrous minerals such as tremolite, anthophvlite, chrvsotile, and pyrophyllite. The electron microscope, with its higher power of resolution, shows a number of sub micron diameter particulates not visible by means of phase contrast microscopy. Free Silica In 8 of the 22 talcum products (Table I), the presence of quartz ranged from 0.3 to 1.0%: in 13 products, 1.2 to 3.0% quartz, and in 1 product, 54.4% quartz. Metals With the exception of talcum products Nos. 4, 8, and 22 (Table I), the cobalt content of the products analyzed was under 25 parts per million by weight (ppm ), chromium under 22 ppm, nickel under 29 ppm, and manganese under 78 ppm. Product No. 4 had a nickel content of 1270 ppm; chromium 340 ppm: and cobalt, 67 ppm. Product No. 8 con tained 479 ppm nickel and 329 ppm chromi um. Product No. 22 contained 1210 ppm nickel and 1170 ppm chromium. Qualitative tests showed some of the chromium in the talcum products to be in the hexavalent state. The nickel, chromium, cobalt, and manganese in the talcum products may have come from the talc mineral deposit10 or from the alloy metals of the pulverizing equipment used in reducing the talc.13 The zirconium content of the products was all under 10 milligrams per gram (mg/gm except for products Nos. 9 and 17, which had 20 and 30 mg/gm respectively. The titanium, zinc, and iron ranged from a few tenths to a'1 mg/gm of talcum and were probably present as pigments or opacificrs. The magnesium content of the products was over 10 me gm, except for product No. 9 which hac only 0.5 mg/gm. The magnesium was prob ably present as an additive in the formulation or as a part of the talc molecule or oilier amphiboles in the products. American The alu ability assi cule, or at material fr Known H e Much i effects of ! pational e: industrial edge to th' must be i posures in markedly frequency location. In cont the patter with acco use of cosi inittent wi exposure especially in the ea habits. T1 industrial in injury higher, h< from the i Mining, The cli: "talcosis," workers w ing, millin terminally both segm hi morph been foun bad recei\ molite, an '!iidv20 thi lung and -'roup of l^pulatior 'ns. the rc `ertain. S fibers plav "cent in\ ;nay have 'lTirum llnnship.13