Document DvqeNqebxQYmOwMLZgMxoyMY4

FILE NAME Talc TALC DATE 2009 DOC TALC188 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Barry Castleman Statement on Cosmetic Use of Talc Cosmetic Use of Talc It has long been known that tale minerals are commonly contaminated with asbestos Fibrous tale miners in New York state were reported as having fibrosis ofthe lungs in 1943 an excessive rate of lung cancer in 1967 and cases of pleural mesothelioma more recently Early reports raised concern about talc itself as well as talc with asbestos minerals in it U.S. governmental researchers called attention to Fibrous and Mineral Content of Cosmetic Tale Products LJ Cralley et al Amer Indust Hyg Assoc J. pp 350-354 1968 which contained 8 to 30 percent offibrous materials The use of talc on surgical gloves was no longer recommended after that year Merck Index 1968 p 1011 cited in Blejer and Arlon Talc and Carcinoma ofthe Ovary and Cervix WJ Henderson et al J. Obstet Gynaec Brit Comm 78 266-272 1971 was a concern raised by consumer exposure to tale A paper presented in 1971 reported that the Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Los Angeles had discontinued the use of talcum powders for any inpatient use H Blejer and R. Arlon Tale A Possible Occupational and Environmental Carcinogen J Occup Med 15 92-97 1973 This report also referred to a 1971 study by researchers at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York in which significant amounts of asbestos were present in two brands of commercial household fibrous tale dusting talcum powder In August of 1971 FDA official Alfred Weissler organized a discussion section at FDA on asbestos in talc which was attended by almost 50 representatives of industry universities and government to L Adamson and S Lang Environmental Defense Fund Mar. 2 1973 I worked at the Baltimore County Department of Health at this time and received a letter from Congressman Paul Sarbanes observing Apparently the FDA should be taking a greater interest in the suspected carcinogenicity of talcs and the labeling of products containing asbestos 19 1972 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration proposed on August 12 1972 Federal Register to issue new regulations to require that tale used as a food additive and in food packaging be free of asbestos particles The next year two environmental groups petitioned FDA to take action on asbestos foods and drugs arising from talc use and asbestos filtration of drugs The asbestos issue thus received widespread publicity FDA Asked to Ban Asbestos Filters New York Times June 29 1973 I was the main author ofa report published by the Center for Science in the Public Interest Asbestos and You The text was included with my testimony on community asbestos exposure at U.S. Senate Commerce Committee hearings held February 23 1973. Alarmed over the cancer hazard of asbestos in talc and the risk that industry and the FDA wouldn't assure public safety we wrote Before 1895 when Johnson & Johnson began talc manufacture babies were commonly dusted with corn starch this safe substitute is still available and at fourth the cost of talc We recommend it The National Enquirer ran a story Talcum Powder Can Cause Cancer Nov. 5 1974 in which the world authority on asbestos at Mt. Sinai Dr. Irving Sclikoff was quoted as saying We're really worried about the use of tale in the home because of tale's asbestos content Selikoff's team published a lengthy report in which the presence of asbestiform minerals and quartz was cited as establishing a need for a regulatory standard for cosmetic talc AN Rohl et al Consumer Talcums and Powders Mineral and Chemical Characterization J. Tox Envir Health 2 255-284 1976 Selikoff's associate Arthur Langer said they found 2-20 percent asbestos in 9 of 19 products tested M Burros Asbestos Fibers Found in Baby Powder Washington Post Mar. 8 1976 Some products tested were asbestos and one was composed of cornstarch instead of talc The products were formulated prior to June 1973 Given the widespread concern over asbestos in talc by health scientists government and the media companies using tale in consumer talcum products after 1971 should have been aware of the potential mortal hazard of asbestos in such products to infants cosmeticians and other users and consumers ofthese products Lawsuits over the workers getting mesothelioma from the use of asbestiform talc from R.T. Vanderbilt Company in New York state in Durham Water Putty consumer patching products led to loss of markets and the closure ofthe tale mine in 2008. As the company is privately owned its entire list of commercial customers including possible cosmetic and baby powder use was never disclosed As of 2007 at least 13 workers at the mine had developed mesothelioma This was noted in a letter sent by Drs Castleman Millette and Abraham to the US Consumer Product Safety Commission letter was never answered A former defense lawyer for RT Vanderbilt told me in 2009 that he parted ways with the company because they refused to admit that there was asbestos in their talc He was urging that they should admit that and use other defenses to defeat claims