New research by a number of public health experts found that talc powder (the main ingredient of baby powder) is regularly cross-contaminated with asbestos, making the household product potentially carcinogenic.

While this an allegedly common occurrence, miners and talc powder manufacturers have not publicly acknowledged just how often this asbestos contamination of talc occurs.

Baby Powder and Mesothelioma Cancer

Based on information from the September issue of the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health, three different laboratories allegedly had their scientists track asbestos-contaminated talc for over a year. According to the study, researchers had been puzzled by a number of reports over the years of women developing mesothelioma despite not having been noticeably exposed to asbestos, the only cause of mesothelioma, in their past. During the course of the research, scientists tracked the talc from the mines where it is harvested to its packaging into the common household baby powder product and, eventually, how this asbestos-containing powder becomes trapped in a consumer’s lung.

Ronald Gordon, a pathologist and one of the leading researchers of this groundbreaking study, stated, “Of course we knew that there was asbestos contaminating the talc in many cosmetic powders, but who would have ever thought that that’s the way these women were being exposed?” Over the past few years, the number of people contracting or dying from mesothelioma after being exposed to the asbestos fibers has escalated, which some scientists, doctors, and even geologists have attributed to an increased presence of asbestos particles in consumer products.

According to the baby powder asbestos research, asbestos has been allegedly found in other common products besides talc powder, including cosmetics, body talc powders, and barber talc powder. After prolonged exposure to asbestos, the fibers sit in the lung or lung lining and cause the growth of tumors, eventually leading to an individual’s death.

While the asbestos contamination of talc is a new discovery, the safety of talc powder has long been called into question. Baby powder has been linked to ovarian cancer for decades, which resulted in older talc products that received a number of baby powder cancer lawsuits to be pulled from the market.

However, this has not stopped new shipments of similar, and allegedly carcinogenic, talc powders from being shipped from overseas manufacturers. These shipments are not inspected by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or other agencies for safety or contamination. Johnson & Johnson still markets and sells its brand name Johnson’s Baby Powder despite the numerous talc powder-ovarian cancer studies and the hundreds of baby powder lawsuits currently awaiting trial in federal court.

Since 1893, J&J has marketed its baby powder as a safe to use on baby skin and as a means to mask odors in the female genital area. However, as early as 1960, researchers became concerned with possible carcinogenic effects of talc powder. Study after study from then until present has demonstrated a strong correlation between the use of talc powder on the genital area and a woman’s increased risk of developing ovarian cancer.

In light of these studies, many female consumers have filed baby powder cancer lawsuits or have joined existing Johnson’s Baby Powder cancer class action lawsuits.