Document vgRvGz0wZb08JJqjm74Dr3N6
FILE NAME Talc TALC
DATE 1974 Nov 5
DOC TALC080
DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Newspaper Article - Talcum Powder
Can Cause Cancer
National Eng Nov. 1974 p3
Americans duTsatledcuomn aplomwodsetrevery bsoabyliberaclalny Research Reveals Threat to Millions of Americans
be a serious hazard to the health and
even the lives of millions of Amer-
icans who use it warn leading health experts
Scientists are alarmed because re-
cent studies show a definite link be-
tween talc a soft mineral that forms the base of talcum powder and several deadly forms of cancer
One study reveals that tale miners and millers in New York state have four times more lung cancer than nor-
mal
And an ongoing study in Britain shows talc to be present in three fourths of ovarian cysts and half of all cervical tumors checked by scientists
The same British researchers also found talc in every one of 12 stomach
tumors from Japan which has the highest incidence of this disease in
the world - and where talc is used in
the preparation of rice the nation's staple food
We're really worried about the use of talc in the home admitted one health expert Dr. Irving Selikoff of
New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Tale contains asbestos - and we al-
ready know asbestos is a cancer ing agent We've suspected for a long
time that talc also causes cancer and
these studies seem to confirm it There is a very real danger involved
because the use of talc is so wide
spread according to Dr. William Nicholson associate professor of community medicine at Mount Sinai
Dr. Arthur Langer an associate professor of mineralogy at Mount Sinai
added At least 50 million Americans
use some form of talc in their daily lives - and almost every baby is literally doused with it
When a baby is dusted with talcum powder every day it inhales the tale - which accumulates in the body to such a degree it can't be eliminated
This could cause cancer later in life Talc and asbestos are both silicates
and occur together in nature When
talc is crushed into powder the asbestos often remains Dr. Langer said
An added problem he revealed
is that tale sometimes contains min-
erals like nickel or cobalt - which
like asbestos are definitely cancer-
causing .
Drs Langer and Selikoff both be-
lieve talc product labels should reveal
the amount of asbestos each product
contains
And Dr. Selikoff a professor of en-
vironmental science added Because
of the potential danger I definitely think people should have some way of
knowing how much asbestos is in the
talcum they buy
The recent study of New York state
tale workers shows that exposure to
talc definitely can be harmful said
Dr. Selikoff
:
These miners and millers have four
times the normal rate of lung cancer as well as extensive lung scarring and lung tumors
And the British study under way in
Cardiff Wales has established a def-
inite relationship between tale and
some tumors according to William
Henderson of Cardiff's Tenovus Insti-
tute for
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