| |

New Mesothelioma Case Renews Talcum Powder Fears

ByAlex Strauss

Jurors in a California courtroom are being asked to consider this week whether Johnson & Johnson’s talcum powder products are responsible for another case of malignant pleural mesothelioma.

This is the sixth such mesothelioma trial involving Johnson & Johnson, which is already named in thousands of lawsuits brought by women with ovarian cancer.

In the latest case, 59-year-old Carolyn Weirick, who was diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma in 2017, claims her disease was caused by a lifetime of accidental inhalation of asbestos fibers when using Johnson’s Baby Powder or Johnson’s Shower to Shower Powder.

Although Johnson & Johnson has maintained that their talc products are pure and safe, Weirick’s lawyer Jay Stuemke told jurors, “Talc is not as pure as people would like to think. You can’t process asbestos out of talc.”

What is the Link Between Talcum Powder and Mesothelioma?

Talc and asbestos are different minerals with different chemical compositions and shapes. Talc is made of magnesium, silicon, and oxygen.

The difficulty for Johnson & Johnson and other companies that produce products from talc is that talc deposits and asbestos deposits often lie in close proximity to each other, increasing the likelihood that the talc rocks, which are pulverized to make powder, will be contaminated with ribbons of asbestos.

Unfortunately, as the Environmental Protection Agency acknowledges, there is no safe level of asbestos exposure. Even a few shards of asbestos, accidentally inhaled or swallowed, can become trapped in the tissues.

The irritation and inflammation caused by these biopersistant fibers can trigger physiological changes that result in a mesothelioma diagnosis even decades after initial asbestos exposure.

Research has shown that the more regular and consistent a person’s asbestos exposure is, the higher their risk for developing malignant mesothelioma.

Are All Talc Product Dangerous?

Any product that contains talc has the possibility of also containing some amount of asbestos, although there are purification processes designed to remove asbestos from talc. According to the American Cancer Society, findings have been mixed about whether purified talc can cause ovarian or lung cancer. It has not been “strongly linked” to other cancers.

On the other hand, asbestos has been definitively linked to deadly malignant mesothelioma, lung cancer, and several other diseases. Even though asbestos has not been officially allowed in talcum products used in the home since the 1970s, talcum powders are not the only products believed to contain it.

In the past year, several kind of makeup products for girls and Playskool crayons have also been found to contain traces of asbestos, raising fears about mesothelioma risks.

Sources:

Sammon, John, “Trial opens accusing Johnson & Johnson talc powder of causing mesothelioma”, August 21, 2018

Siegel, David, “Sixth Johnson & Johnson Talc Powder Mesothelioma Trial Begins in California”, August 21, 2018, Courtroom View Network

Talcum Powder and Cancer, American Cancer Society Website, Accessed August 22, 2018

Similar Posts

  • |

    Mesothelioma Victims’ Victory in Pennsylvania

    ByAlex Strauss

    Workers and their families have won a victory in Pennsylvania after the state Supreme Court ruled that they could sue former employers over late-manifesting industrial diseases like mesothelioma. The decision focused on a provision in Pennsylvania’s Workers’ Compensation Act that says workers cannot sue an employer if their occupational disease occurred more than 300 weeks after their on-the-job exposure. While many occupational injuries and diseases occur within weeks or months of exposure to a toxin, asbestos diseases like mesothelioma are a notable exception. Believed to be caused by chronic irritation from inhaled or ingested asbestos fibers, mesothelioma does not usually begin to cause symptoms until at least a decade after exposure. Expressing the opinion of the majority, Supreme Court Justice…

  • |

    Last Man Sentenced in Asbestos Dumping Scheme

    ByAlex Strauss

    The U.S. Justice Department has announced that a New Jersey man will spend 15 months in prison for his part in a scheme to illegally dump thousands of tons of asbestos-contaminated construction debris – putting others at risk for mesothelioma. He was the last person to be sentenced in the conspiracy. Asbestos is the cause of mesothelioma, a difficult to treat and aggressive cancer.  At the height of its popularity from the 1940s to the early 1970s, asbestos was common in building products ranging from floor and ceiling tiles to joint compound, concrete and shingles. It is still present in tens of thousands of older homes and buildings today. In an effort to protect workers and the public from mesothelioma…

  • |

    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…

  • |

    States Wrestle with Mesothelioma Laws & Violations

    ByAlex Strauss

    The city of Paterson, New Jersey is facing hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for putting city workers at risk for deadly mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases. A state labor department inspection determined that Paterson had committed 43 OSHA safety violations, including 13 “serious” violations related to asbestos removal. The labor department says the city failed to properly supervise, train or monitor employees charged with removing asbestos ceiling tiles from a city building. They’re also charged with failing to provide the workers with the proper safety equipment. Asbestos is the primary cause of malignant mesothelioma, an aggressive cancer. Workers exposed to the asbestos now face an increased lifetime risk of developing mesothelioma. Paterson could face fines of $4,500 per day…