The family of a 44-year-old woman who died of ovarian cancer has filed talcum powder wrongful death lawsuit.

Debbie W., the deceased, used Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder and Shower to Shower powder, two talc-based products, in her perineal area from 1993 through 2013.

At age 42, Debbie was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 42. She died on Jan. 31, 2015 of cancer, which has led to the talcum powder wrongful death lawsuit.

Talc Is a Carcinogen

The United States National Toxicology Program deemed that talc was a carcinogen in 1993. While often mined in conjunction with asbestos, researchers found evidence of carcinogenic (cancer-causing) activity in talc that was not tainted with fellow carcinogen asbestos.

In response to that study, Johnson & Johnson joined the Cosmetic Toiletry and Fragrance Association along with what is now known as Imerys Talc to form the Talc Interested Party Task Force (TIPTF). Their primary mission was “to pool financial resources of these companies in an effort to collectively defend talc use at all costs and to prevent regulation of any type of this industry.”

The TIPTF hired scientists to perform biased research and “knowingly released false information or concealed information about the safety of talc to the consuming public, and used political and economic influence on regulatory bodies regarding talc,” the lawsuit claims.

The talcum powder wrongful death lawsuit contends that “all of these activities have been well coordinated and planned by these companies and organizations including the Johnson & Johnson Defendants, Imerys Talc, and PCPC, over the past four decades in an effort to prevent regulation of talc and to create confusion to the consuming public about the true hazards of talc relative to ovarian cancer.”

Studies and Concerned Cancer Watchdogs Agree

Dr. W.J. Henderson led a study in Cardiff, Wales in 1971 that was the first to suggest a link between talc and ovarian cancer.

Over the years, various studies have confirmed the link, and in 1996, the condom industry stopped using talc in condoms due to concerns of ovarian cancer.

In February 2006, the International Association for Research on Cancer (IARC) deemed the perineal use of talc-based powder as a “Group 2B” human carcinogen.

The IARC, which is not only part of the World Health Organization, but also is universally accepted as the international authority on cancer issues, found a consistent increased risk of ovarian cancer in women who used talk in the perineal area, the lawsuit states.

According to the talcum powder wrongful death lawsuit, “IARC found that between 16-52 percent of women in the world were using talc to dust their perineum and found an increased risk of ovarian cancer in women talc users ranging from 30 to 60 percent.”

A pamphlet entitled “Myths & Facts About Ovarian Cancer: What You Need to Know” was published by the Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry, Roswell Park Center Institute, and the Department of Gynecologic Oncology University of Vermont. Under the list of “known” ovarian cancer risk factors is “Use of Talc (Baby Powder) in the Genital Area,” the lawsuit asserts.

The plaintiffs have brought forth several allegations against the Defendants including violation of the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act, negligence or wantonness, strict liability for defective manufacture and design and failure to warn, negligent misrepresentation, fraud, breach of express warranties, civil conspiracy and wrongful death and survival. They are seeking economic and noneconomic damages, punitive damages, and attorneys’ fees and costs, among other forms of relief.

The Talcum Powder Wrongful Death Lawsuit is Case No. 1:17-cv-00199-RC, in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.