Fibrous and mineral content of cosmetic talcum products

Our plain-English summary of Fibrous and mineral content of cosmetic talcum products, by L.J. Cralley, M.M. Key, D.H. Groth, et al (American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal, 1968).

The study

• Authors: L.J. Cralley, M.M. Key, D.H. Groth, W.S. Lainhart, R.M. Ligo
• Journal: American Industrial Hygiene Association Journal
• Published: 1968;29(4):350-4
• Cited by: 51 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher
• In J-M's library: Johns-Manville's company medical library held a copy (J-M no. 001442).

In plain English

This was a laboratory analysis of 22 cosmetic talcum powders bought off the shelf. The authors tested them for fibers, quartz and selected metals, partly to find sources of the coated fibers (ferruginous bodies) reported in human lungs at autopsy. Every product contained fibers: 8 to 30% of particles by count, averaging 19%. The fibers were not specifically identified; the authors described them as mainly talc, probably with minor amounts of tremolite, anthophyllite and chrysotile. In seven sized products, fibers were generally under 1.0 micron wide and 1.5 to 6.0 microns long. The text gave 0.3 to 3.0% quartz in 21 products and 54.4% in one, but the table appears to show 53.4% for that product and 3.6% and 3.3% for two others. Three products had high nickel and chromium, and some of the chromium was hexavalent. The authors judged silica, chromium and nickel in four products high enough to be of concern. They also concluded that cosmetic talc should be counted as a source of fibers that may form ferruginous bodies, whose meaning is uncertain, and called for more research.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Laboratory analysis of commercially sold cosmetic talcum products
• Who was studied: 22 cosmetic talcum products (body powder, bath powder, all-purpose powder) purchased off the shelf. The article does not say where or when they were bought. Seven of the 22 were measured for particle size.
• Exposure: Contents of cosmetic talcum powder. Fibers were counted by phase contrast microscopy at 430 times magnification, with a fiber defined as a particle at least 3 times as long as it is wide. Quartz was measured by x-ray diffraction. Cobalt, chromium, nickel and manganese were measured by atomic absorption, and zirconium, titanium, zinc, iron and magnesium by emission spectrography.
• Main results:
  • All 22 products contained fibers, ranging from 8 to 30% by count of the total talcum particles, with an average of 19%.
  • The fibers were not specifically identified. The authors described them as predominantly talc, probably with minor amounts of tremolite, anthophyllite and chrysotile.
  • In the seven products measured for size, fibers were generally under 1.0 micron in diameter, with lengths of 1.5 to 6.0 microns.
  • The article's text reports quartz at 0.3 to 3.0% in 21 products and 54.4% in the remaining product. Table I, as scanned, appears to show 53.4 for product 9, and 3.6 and 3.3 for products 8 and 21, which conflicts with the text.
  • Product No. 8 contained 479 ppm nickel and 329 ppm chromium.
  • Product No. 22 contained 1210 ppm nickel and 1170 ppm chromium.
  • Product No. 4 had 1270 ppm nickel, chromium printed as 340 ppm in the text, and 67 ppm cobalt.
  • In the other products, cobalt was under 25 parts per million by weight, chromium under 22 ppm, nickel under 29 ppm and manganese under 78 ppm.
  • Qualitative tests showed some of the chromium in the talcum products was in the hexavalent state.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the levels of silica, chromium and nickel in four of the 22 products were high enough to be of concern for their potential to cause disease. They also concluded that cosmetic talcum products should be included as a source of fibers that may form the ferruginous bodies seen in human lungs, though the meaning of those bodies is uncertain, and that continued research was needed.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The specific fibrous materials were not identified.
  • The authors did not know whether the four products with higher levels made up a significant share of sales, or whether their talc sources were the same as those used in other products.
  • The authors said they did not intend a general appraisal of health effects of talcum use, because of the many variables involved and limited data.
  • The electron microscope showed submicron particles that could not be seen with the phase contrast microscopy used for counting.

Topics

The National Library of Medicine indexes this study under subjects our site covers: Talc and vermiculite.

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