Risk Assessment of Baby Powder Exposure through Inhalation

Our plain-English summary of Risk Assessment of Baby Powder Exposure through Inhalation, by M.C. Moon, J.D. Park, B.S. Choi, et al (Toxicological Research, 2011).

The study

• Authors: M.C. Moon, J.D. Park, B.S. Choi, S.Y. Park, D.W. Kim, Y.H. Chung, N. Hisanaga, I.J. Yu
• Journal: Toxicological Research
• Published: 2011;27(3):137-41
• Cited by: 18 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

This study was conducted to assess the exposure risk through inhalation to baby powder for babies and adults under simulated conditions. Baby powder was applied to a baby doll and the amount of baby powder consumed per application was estimated. The airborne exposure to baby powder during application was then evaluated by sampling the airborne baby powder near the breathing zones of both the baby doll and the person applying the powder (the applicator). The average amount of baby powder consumed was 100 mg/application, and the average exposure concentration of airborne baby powder for the applicator and baby doll was 0.00527 mg/m(3) (range 0.00157~0.01579 mg/m(3)) and 0.02207 mg/m(3) (range 0.00780~ 0.04173 mg/m(3)), respectively. When compared with the Occupational Exposure Limit of 2 mg/m(3) set by the Korean Ministry of Labor and the Threshold Limit Value (TLV) of 2 mg/m(3) set by the ACGIH (American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists), the exposure concentrations were much lower. Next, the exposure to asbestos-containing baby powder was estimated and the exposure risk was assessed based on the lung asbestos contents in normal humans. As a result, the estimated lung asbestos content resulting from exposure to asbestos-containing baby powder was found to be much lower than that of a normal Korean with no asbestos-related occupational history.

In plain English

After a 2009 Korean report of asbestos in talc-based baby powders, the authors simulated powdering a 40-cm baby doll. They took ten air samples near the applicator's breathing zone and ten 20 cm from the doll's nose. Average airborne powder was 0.00527 mg/m3 for the applicator and 0.02207 mg/m3 for the doll. The authors reported these were much lower than 2 mg/m3 workplace talc limits; the ACGIH limit, a time-weighted average, covers talc not containing asbestos. About 100 mg was used per application. No asbestos testing of this powder is reported; instead, the authors calculated a hypothetical case for a baby. They used a published estimate of 10,000 airborne fibers/m3 for a workplace using talc with below 0.1% asbestos. With 20% lung deposition assumed, they estimated 87,600, 3,650 or 608 fibers per gram of dry lung for 24 hours, 1 hour or 10 minutes daily over 2 years. The authors concluded these were much lower than lung asbestos contents reported for Koreans without occupational asbestos history. They noted that comparing these 5-minute simulated-use measurements with workplace limits was difficult.

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: Simulated exposure assessment using a baby doll, combined with a calculated (modeled) estimate of lung asbestos content. There were no human subjects.
• Who was studied: No people were studied. The study used a 40-cm baby doll and a person applying the powder, with ten air samples taken near each of them. The asbestos calculation assumed a baby's breathing rate and lung weight. The study was done by researchers in Korea and was funded by the Korea Food and Drug Administration.
• Exposure: Airborne talc-based baby powder (purchased from Agabang & Company, Seoul) during application. For the asbestos estimate, the authors did not measure asbestos. They assumed a published airborne asbestos concentration of 10,000 fibers/m3 for a workplace using talc with below 0.1% asbestos. The fiber type was not specified.
• Main results:
  • The average airborne baby powder concentration was 0.00527 mg/m3 for the applicator and 0.02207 mg/m3 for the baby doll.
  • The authors reported these concentrations as much lower than two limits. One is the 2 mg/m3 ACGIH TLV, a time-weighted average for talc not containing asbestos. The other is the 2 mg/m3 Korean occupational exposure level.
  • Average powder consumed was 107 mg (58 to 164 mg) for one application, 243 mg (204 to 279 mg) for three, and 353 mg (336 to 372 mg) for five. The abstract and discussion give approximately 100 mg per application.
  • In the hypothetical calculation for a baby, inhaled asbestos would be 438,000, 18,250 or 3,040 fibers per gram of dry lung for exposure of 24 hours, 1 hour or 10 minutes over 2 years.
  • With a maximum deposition fraction of 20%, the estimated lung asbestos content would be 87,600, 3,650 or 608 fibers per gram of dry lung for the same three exposure scenarios.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the estimated lung asbestos content from exposure to asbestos-containing baby powder was much lower than that reported for a normal Korean with no asbestos-related occupational history.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • It is difficult to compare a workplace exposure limit with an indoor environment such as a home. Workplace sampling lasts 6 to 8 hours, while this study sampled for only 5 minutes.

Topics

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Occupational Exposure, Threshold Limit Value (TLV), Occupational History.

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