Johnson and Johnson under criminal investigation in US over asbestos in talcum powder

Our plain-English summary of Johnson and Johnson under criminal investigation in US over asbestos in talcum powder, by O. Dyer (BMJ, 2019).

The study

• Author: O. Dyer
• Journal: BMJ
• Published: 2019;366:l4747
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

In plain English

This item is a one-page news report in the BMJ, not a research study, and it contains no new medical data. The author reported that, according to a Bloomberg report citing people with knowledge of the matter, a federal grand jury in Washington DC was examining Johnson and Johnson documents. This was part of a US Department of Justice criminal investigation into what executives may have known or concealed about asbestos in the company's talcum products. The company faced around 14 000 lawsuits over Johnson's Baby Powder and other talcum products such as Shower to Shower, which plaintiffs said caused mesotheliomas and ovarian cancers. The company said it had received a subpoena and was fully cooperating. The author noted that its February 2019 filing did not mention a grand jury or criminal investigation. Juries had awarded over $5bn in damages. The article also described a December 2018 Reuters analysis of litigation documents. Those documents seemed to show executives worried about traces of asbestos while assuring the public the products were asbestos-free.

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: News report (journalism, not a research study), based on reporting by Bloomberg and Reuters and on company statements and filings
• Who was studied: No study population. The article concerns Johnson and Johnson, a US company, and the roughly 14 000 lawsuits brought against it over its talcum products
• Exposure: Asbestos in talcum products (Johnson's Baby Powder, Shower to Shower). No fiber type is named. Plaintiffs say these products caused mesotheliomas and ovarian cancers
• Main results:
  • Bloomberg reported that a federal grand jury in Washington DC was examining company documents in a US justice department criminal probe into what Johnson and Johnson executives may have known or concealed about asbestos in their talcum products
  • Johnson and Johnson said it had received a subpoena from the US Department of Justice, was fully cooperating, and that the implication of a new development was wrong
  • The author noted that the company's February 2019 Securities and Exchange Commission filing did not mention a grand jury or criminal investigation
  • Juries had awarded over $5bn in damages against the company. The author wrote that these awards were likely to be adjusted downwards
  • A December 2018 Reuters analysis of thousands of litigation documents seemed to show executives discussing worries about persistent traces of asbestos in the talcum powder while assuring the public the products were asbestos-free
  • The company's share price fell about 5% after the news broke
• The authors' conclusion: As a news report, the article draws no scientific conclusion. The author wrote that the investigation, if it led to charges, could set a new benchmark of accountability for corporations whose products contain trace amounts of toxins or pollutants

Related studies

• Johnson & Johnson knew for decades talcum powder contained asbestos, reports allege — O. Dyer (2018)
• Johnson & Johnson recalls its Baby Powder after FDA finds asbestos in sample — O. Dyer (2019)
• Criminal investigation follows report on asbestos compensation fund — B. Burton (2004)
• Consumer talcums and powders: mineral and chemical characterization — A.N. Rohl, A.M. Langer, et al. (1976)
• Potential Airborne Asbestos Exposure and Risk Associated with the Historical Use of Cosmetic Talcum Powder Products — A.M. Burns, C.A. Barlow, et al. (2019)
• Pulmonary disease caused by the inhalation of cosmetic talcum powder — I.P. Wells, P.A. Dubbins, et al. (1979)

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