Growing concerns over asbestos-related baby powder danger have led federal investigators to subpoena corporate records from Johnson & Johnson.

The Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States are currently investigating Johnson & Johnson over growing concerns about possible asbestos contamination in the company’s talcum powder products. Sen. Patty Murray of Washington has also asked Johnson & Johnson for information about this issue.

Consumers have argued for some time that the talc products promoted as safe for everyday use were anything but, particularly as many of the women who use these items developed cancer in their later years. Consumer advocates suspect this baby powder danger may be connected to asbestos inside the product.

Both federal agencies subpoenaed Johnson & Johnson after numerous jury awards were decided in favor of plaintiffs. Those plaintiffs alleged that asbestos was present in the Johnson & Johnson baby products and ultimately cause the development of cancer.

More than 13,000 plaintiffs have filed baby powder cancer lawsuits, which triggered the government and agency investigation. Although Johnson & Johnson has fought back, arguing that their products are safe, the number of lawsuits filed against them has grown.

The subpoenas came a few months after a Reuters investigation indicated that the company may have known for many years that the baby powder products might have small amounts of asbestos inside. Documents revealed during the investigation allegedly revealed the company was aware that raw and finished talc powders tested positive for small asbestos amounts from at least 1971 through the early 2000s.

Talcum powder is generated from talc which is a mineral made up of the elements silicon, oxygen and magnesium. Raw talc can occasionally be contaminated with asbestos, because these two naturally-occurring minerals are typically found in close proximity to one another.

Asbestos is a documented human carcinogen that increases the risk of cancer when a human is continuously exposed.

Johnson & Johnson has not yet released any details to the public about how much asbestos is currently in their products either now or in the past. The company has continued to maintain that their products do not contain asbestos and do not cause mesothelioma or ovarian cancer, despite a growing number of lawsuits that allege exactly that.

The company representatives continue to argue that the company uses the safest purest pharmaceutical rate talc available on earth and that their baby powder products do not cause asbestos related diseases or cancer.

Talcum powder is frequently promoted as helping to cut down on friction and absorbing moisture well which makes it an ideal choice for preventing rashes and keeping the skin dry. Many women have used it in their perennial area for feminine hygiene purposes, and some of these women have been diagnosed with ovarian cancer after decades of regular use.

Although studies have come to conflicting results about whether or not regular use of talcum powder does cause cancer, many of the women who have been diagnosed with ovarian or uterine cancer report similar histories of using talcum powder in their genital area over the course of many decades.