The potential causative relationship between exposure to cosmetic talc and asbestos-related disease is of particular interest considering recent, high-visibility cases being litigated across the United States. Talc is a naturally occurring mineral, mainly composed of a crystalline hydrated silicate of magnesium. High-purity talc has historically been used for cosmetic purposes, including body powders, makeup, and antiperspirants, and has been sourced from mines containing pure (>95%) “platiform” talc. So-called cosmetic talc must meet physical and chemical specifications to ensure the qualities needed or desired for its specific application. Nonetheless, and despite the lack of evidence of detectable levels of asbestos in the major sources of high-purity talc, concerns regarding possible consumer health risks associated with asbestos in cosmetic talc have been raised.

What are the concerns?

Three primary exposure–disease relationships have been postulated in the literature concerning cosmetic talc exposure and the development of cancer: 1) inhalation of cosmetic talc and mesothelioma, 2) inhalation of cosmetic talc and ovarian cancer, and 3) perineal use of cosmetic talc and ovarian cancer. These three concerns are based, in part, on the premise that there exists widespread presence of asbestos in cosmetic talc source mines and, thus, in end products used by consumers.

Evaluating potential risks associated with cosmetic talc use

While debate continues in the scientific community regarding analytical methods used to detect asbestos in talc, the use of qualitative and quantitative risk assessment methodology can be employed to address the potential human health risks associated with the consumer use of cosmetic talcum powder products. Integral consultants performed such an assessment to evaluate the potential for human health risk, in particular the risk of developing mesothelioma and ovarian cancer, following consumer use of talc-containing cosmetic products.

Evidence supports the conclusion that consumer use of cosmetic talc is not related to the development of mesothelioma or ovarian cancer.

In a recently published book chapter, my colleagues and I looked at two main research questions with a focus on the disease endpoints of mesothelioma and ovarian cancer. First, does the evidence suggest any risk of mesothelioma or ovarian cancer as a result of exposure through cosmetic talc use? Second, if it were assumed that asbestos was or is present in cosmetic talc at concentrations at or below the analytical limit of detection (<0.1%), would a hypothetical consumer exposure to cosmetic talc via inhalation pose an increased risk of asbestos-related disease? To evaluate this question, cumulative asbestos exposures (for both infant and adult age groups) for several consumer use scenarios were estimated. These exposures were then benchmarked against background and published “no-effect” cumulative asbestos exposures. A weight-of-evidence analysis was performed to contextualize the risk assessment with the available genotoxicity and animal toxicity data, as well as epidemiological evidence, specifically pertaining to the risk of mesothelioma among cosmetic talc miners and millers, talc pleurodesis patients, United States women, and potential occupational end users (i.e., consumers) of cosmetic talcum powder products.

Detailed human health risk assessment can be found here.

Through our analysis, we determined that the weight of historical and current evidence overwhelmingly indicates that typical consumer use of cosmetic talc-containing products does not pose a carcinogenic health risk. This conclusion is based on multiple lines of scientific evidence, including epidemiological data (e.g., cohort studies, case–control studies, ecological analyses), animal toxicity studies, industrial hygiene and exposure data, as well as carcinogenicity conclusions of government agencies and international scientific organizations (Ierardi et al. 2021; Lynch et al. 2022, 2023). Based on this abundance of data regarding cosmetic talc exposures spanning multiple scientific disciplines, the available evidence supports the conclusion that consumer use of cosmetic talc is not related to the development of mesothelioma or ovarian cancer.