Talc: occurrence, characterization, and consumer applications

Our plain-English summary of Talc: occurrence, characterization, and consumer applications, by R. Zazenski, W.H. Ashton, D. Briggs, et al (Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, 1995).

The study

• Authors: R. Zazenski, W.H. Ashton, D. Briggs, M. Chudkowski, J.W. Kelse, L. MacEachern, E.F. McCarthy, M.A. Nordhauser, M.T. Roddy, N.M. Teetsel
• Journal: Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology
• Published: 1995;21(2):218-29
• Type of article: Review
• Cited by: 39 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher

Abstract

Talc is a mineral compound with unique attributes and significant commercial importance. As used in consumer products, talc has a long and proven history of safe use. Direct consumer applications include body powders, other cosmetic formulations, pharmaceutical tableting, and some confectionery food products. Production, characterization, and consumer applications of FDA-regulated talc products, particularly cosmetics, are described. The implementation of stringent safety and quality control measures designed to ensure the absence of asbestos fibers from consumer talc products is discussed. Consumer exposure to talc-containing products is at least 350 times lower than permissible industrial exposure.

In plain English

This article was a descriptive overview of talc's occurrence, production, characterization and consumer uses; it reported no new experiments on people or animals. The authors stated that approximately 48,000 tons of talc went into direct consumer applications in the United States in 1989. They said approximately 95% of it went to cosmetic applications, and pharmaceutical tabletting and various food applications made up approximately 8% of direct consumer use. As printed in the supplied text, those two figures add up to more than 100%, so they need checking against the original printed article. A separate table gave estimated percentages of total usage, for example loose powders 17 and pressed powders (eye and face makeup) 18. Grades were described by mesh fineness, for example a 355-mesh (44-micrometre) screen. As a tablet glidant, talc made up 0.5 to 5.0% by weight. The authors compared wet sedimentation with computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy on the same commercial loose powder. They said wet sedimentation overestimated the relative proportion of small particles, so particle size data must be interpreted carefully before inferring the respirable fraction.

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: descriptive review/overview article (no original epidemiological or experimental study)
• Who was studied: No people or animals were studied. The subject was talc products and their direct consumer applications in the United States, with usage figures for 1989.
• Exposure: Talc used in consumer products: cosmetic loose and pressed powders, stick antiperspirants, lipsticks, pharmaceutical and over-the-counter tablets, and confectionery food products
• Main results:
  • The authors stated that approximately 95% of talc in direct consumer applications went to cosmetic applications. In the supplied text, this figure and the 8% figure below add up to more than 100%, so the original printed figures need checking.
  • Pharmaceutical tabletting plus various food applications were said to make up approximately 8% of direct consumer use.
  • Table I, titled Direct Consumer Applications of Talc, gives estimated percentages of total usage. The entries include loose powders 17 and pressed powders (eye and face makeup) 18. They also include antiperspirants 3, chewing gum and other food applications 3, and pharmaceutical tabletting 2.
  • Fineness grades were defined by screen passage; for example, 355 mesh corresponds to a 44-micrometre screen.
  • As a glidant in pharmaceutical and over-the-counter tabletting, talc ranged from 0.5 to 5.0% by weight of the tablet.
  • On the same commercial loose powder, wet sedimentation overestimated the relative proportion of small talc particles compared with computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy.
  • The authors stated that in solid-matrix products such as lipstick or antiperspirant stick, the talc constituent is rendered essentially nonrespirable.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that particle size distributions based on wet sedimentation must be interpreted properly, particularly when inferences about the respirable fraction of a talc sample are to be drawn.
• Limitations the authors state:
  • The authors noted that computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy is not practicable for routine process control.
  • The authors noted that wet sedimentation has limitations for absolute determination of particle size distribution.
  • The consumer usage percentages came from unpublished industry data.

Topics

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

Medical terms in this study, explained in our Lexicon: Talc.

Related studies

• Consumer talcums and powders: mineral and chemical characterization — A.N. Rohl, A.M. Langer, et al. (1976)
• Historical evolution of regulatory standards for occupational and consumer exposures to industrial talc — D.A. Drechsel, C.A. Barlow, et al. (2018)
• Characterization of talc and associated minerals — D.H. Hamer, F.R. Rolle, et al. (1976)
• Cosmetic talc and ovarian cancer — D.L. Longo, R.C. Young (1979)
• The biology of talc — G.Y. Hildick-Smith (1976)
• Perineal talc use and ovarian cancer: a critical review — J.E. Muscat, M.S. Huncharek (2008)

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