| |

Glitter Makeup Pulled from Shelves Amid Mesothelioma Fears

ByAlex Strauss

Despite decades of evidence that asbestos exposure can cause malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and other illnesses, the toxin is still being used in some unexpected and potentially dangerous ways.

CNBC is reporting that the jewelry story Claire’s has pulled several different glitter-containing makeup products from its shelves amid fears that they may contain asbestos.

WJAR-TV in Rhode Island broke the story last week after a local woman suspected there might be asbestos in her daughter’s glitter makeup kit and sent it away to an independent lab to be tested. The woman works for a law firm that specializes in asbestos class-action lawsuits.

Mesothelioma-Causing Tremolite Found

Scientific Analytical Institute reportedly confirmed that the kits – including the bedazzled rainbow heart makeup set and metallic hot pink glitter makeup – do contain traces of tremolite asbestos.

Tremolite is the primary contaminant found in vermiculite insulation, which has been linked to both pleural and peritoneal mesothelioma in the US and around the world.

The law firm for which the mother works is calling on Claire’s to own up to the contaminated products, recall them, and end its relationship with the vendors that supply them.

Claire’s told CNBC that it has hired an independent laboratory to test the products. In the meantime, it has stopped selling the makeup and is issuing refunds to customers concerned about malignant mesothelioma and other asbestos risks.

Workplace Asbestos Not the Only Mesothelioma Risk

Although mesothelioma diagnoses are most common in people who have been exposed to asbestos in an occupational setting, there have also been a number of mesothelioma cases linked to asbestos-containing consumer products over the years.

Among other things, these include home insulation and building materials, floor and ceiling tiles, contaminated talcum powder, asbestos fireplace liners, asbestos oven mitts, and even glittery asbestos-containing fake snow Christmas decor.

These products are especially dangerous when they break down into dust allowing the asbestos fibers to be accidentally inhaled. It is extremely difficult for the body to rid itself of these fibers, which work themselves into the tissues, triggering inflammation and irritation that may lead to mesothelioma.

Risky Asbestos Products and Malignant Mesothelioma

Many asbestos-containing products stayed on store shelves much longer than they should have, in part because of the lag time between asbestos exposure and malignant mesothelioma development.

It can take decades for mesothelioma symptoms to show up after a person has been exposed. Even after scientists did make the connection between diseases like pleural mesothelioma and asbestos, it took some companies decades to stop making the contaminated products.

Fifty-five countries have now banned asbestos because of the risk for malignant mesothelioma. Although it is no longer mined in the US, it can still be legally imported and sold and incorporated into certain products.

Source:

Hirsch, Lauren, “Claire’s pulls makeup popular with girls amid asbestos allegations”, December 28, 2017, CNBC.com

Similar Posts

  • | |

    Mesothelioma survivor Paul Kraus, alive and well 19 years after writing “Surviving Mesothelioma and Other Cancers

    ByAlex Strauss

    Paul Kraus is considered the longest documented mesothelioma survivor in the world. He was diagnosed in 1997 with mesothelioma so widespread that he was given little hope of survival. Not willing to give up, he worked with a team of doctors to create his own tailored treatment protocol. This protocol included dramatic life style change, experimental therapies, dietary changes, mind-body medicine, and other modalities. Paul was fortunate. The protocol he and his doctors created helped him keep the mesothelioma in check. His book “Surviving Mesothelioma and Other Cancers: A Patient’s Guide” details his cancer voyage, the decisions he made, and his philosophies about health and healing. This book is now the best-selling mesothelioma book in the world and has inspired…

  • | |

    Doctors Describe "Concrete Therapeutic Approach" for Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    A team of medical researchers in Italy have achieved what they are calling “excellent” tumor control and survival results in malignant pleural mesothelioma patients using a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Caused by exposure to asbestos, mesothelioma typically spreads quickly across the lung-encasing membrane called the pleura. There is no known cure but treatments are improving. In the current prospective study, 20 malignant pleural mesothelioma patients underwent radical pleurectomy/decortication followed by high doses of radiation. After surgeons removed as much of the visible mesothelioma tumor and surrounding tissue as possible, patients received 50Gy of radiation to the effected side of their chest, delivered in 25 fractions. Regions of particular concern for mesothelioma regrowth got an extra radiation “boost” to…

  • |

    Mesothelioma Case Shows Danger of Accidental Asbestos Exposure

    ByAlex Strauss

    A mesothelioma case in Birmingham, England is a dramatic illustration of the very real danger of hidden asbestos. The widow of a physician who died of mesothelioma last year at the age of 51 claims her husband was exposed to asbestos just walking to and from his medical classes. Monisha Coelho believes that exposed asbestos insulation in the underground hallways that connect the University of Birmingham to buildings on the Queen Elizabeth Hospital campus triggered Dr. Ian Pardoe’s mesothelioma. In an article in the Birmingham Mail, Coelho explained how her husband decided how and where the deadly exposure had occurred. “Ian thought long and hard about where he might have come into contact with asbestos,” Coelho told the paper. “He…

  • |

    Short-term Asbestos Exposure Triggers Mesothelioma

    ByAlex Strauss

    The recent death of a British man from mesothelioma is evidence of the destructive power of asbestos – even when exposure is short.  A British newspaper reports that Welwyn resident Roger Beale first began experiencing a classic symptom of mesothelioma, shortness of breath, nearly 4 years ago. Beale first noticed the problem while walking up stairs. After a chest X-ray, Beale’s symptoms were attributed to a chest infection.  But when his symptoms continued to worsen, Beale sought medical care again in January, 2010 and was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma, an intractable cancer of the lung lining that is almost always caused by exposure to asbestos. By November of 2010, Beale’s shortness of breath had gotten worse, despite regular monitoring and…

  • |

    Mesothelioma: Surveillance May Reveal Unexpected Exposure Risks

    ByAlex Strauss

    Researchers say continual surveillance for incidents of mesothelioma in the population can turn up some unexpected sources of asbestos exposure, including the home. Asbestos is the primary cause of mesothelioma, a virulent cancer that attacks the linings around organs and can quickly become debilitating. Most mesothelioma patients were first exposed to asbestos on the job, either in construction or in an industrial setting. For decades, asbestos was used in multiple building products and various insulating materials for its strength and heat resistance. But the job site is not the only place where people might encounter asbestos, as Italian researchers found out when they analyzed nationwide mesothelioma data.  Their study, the results of which were recently published in the medical journal Epidemiology and…

  • |

    Wind and Weather Impacts Mesothelioma Rate

    ByAlex Strauss

    People who live downwind from an industrial asbestos source are at much higher risk of developing pleural mesothelioma, according to a new study. Researchers in Barcelona, Spain analyzed 24 cases of pleural mesothelioma diagnosed between 2000 and 2009 near the town of Catalonia. For 90 years, this area of Barcelona was home to a fibrous cement factory where asbestos was used. Because asbestos dust is very light, it does not dissipate in the air quickly. When a person inadvertently inhales or ingests it, the tiny fibers lodge in the tissues and can cause health problems such as mesothelioma even decades later. Although the plant closed in 1997, the rate of mesothelioma in the region continues to be high. To test whether…