Johnson and Johnson Shower to Showerand other baby powder products have been implicated in a new lawsuit filed in Washington D.C.

The plaintiff Frances S.—a citizen and resident of the State of New York—alleges that the pharmaceutical and household product giant along with its subsidiaries and Imerys Talc America created and sold the products that caused her to develop ovarian cancer.

Frances says she started using Johnson and Johnson Shower to Shower and other talc products daily starting in 1966. She says she applied the products to her genital region as part of a daily hygiene program which she claims was encouraged and warrantied as safe by the defendants’ advertising campaigns.

Frances indicates that Johnson and Johnson targeted women with claims that their talc products would make them feel soft, dry, fresh, and odor-free. Insinuation of perineal application was purportedly made in ads when they spoke of the body perspiring in more places than just the underarm region.

Frances says she used these products for close to 50 years before stopping in January of 2016. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer four years prior in May 2012 at the age of 68.

Meanwhile, as early as 1971, a study had allegedly implicated talc—the main ingredient in these powders–with the development of ovarian cancer. A little over a decade later in 1982, an epidemiological study discovered a 92 percent increase in risk of developing this disease if talc was applied daily to the genitals.

There have, according to the lawsuit, been 27 more studies that supported the original study’s findings. Frances’ complaint indicates that Johnson and Johnson Shower and other talc products continued to be sold without warning to the public for decades. This happened despite there being multiple alternatives available, such as cornstarch which is easily broken down by the body.

Other alternative ingredient choices for powders, according to the Organic Authority, are arrowroot powder, rice powder, baking soda, and clays.

The specific method of action which is of concern when it comes to talc and ovarian cancer is that it can enter the fallopian tubes and become embedded in the ovaries. Additional issues have been raised about the nature of talc—mined magnesium silicate—with respect to another known carcinogen, asbestos. According to a 2018 New York Times article, asbestos is often found near deposits of talc and the potential for cross contamination is high.

The Johnson and Johnson Lawsuit is Case No. 1:19-cv-00220 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.