Health and Safety - Talc
I thought I would post this about the safety of Talc containing slips. It is from :
But they may have gotten from ACTS FACTS a Monona Rossol's newsletter on Health and Safety:
Search This Blog
Use this blog to post about or look for information on our monthly meetings, jobs, equipment, openings, shows, sales, workshops, classes, residencies, and everything else relating to being a clay artist.
- Get link
- X
- Other Apps
Comments
Several national and international agencies study substances in the environment to determine if they can cause cancer. (A substance that causes cancer or helps cancer grow is called a carcinogen.) The American Cancer Society looks to these organizations to evaluate the risks based on evidence from laboratory, animal, and human research studies.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) is part of the World Health Organization (WHO). Its major goal is to identify causes of cancer.
IARC classifies talc that contains asbestos as “carcinogenic to humans.”
Based on the lack of data from human studies and on limited data in lab animal studies, IARC classifies inhaled talc not containing asbestos as “not classifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans.”
Based on limited evidence from human studies of a link to ovarian cancer, IARC classifies the perineal (genital) use of talc-based body powder as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”
The US National Toxicology Program (NTP) is formed from parts of several different government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The NTP has not fully reviewed talc (with or without asbestos) as a possible carcinogen.
(For more information on the classification systems used by these agencies, see our document Known and Probable Human Carcinogens.)
Can I reduce my exposure to talcum powder?
It is not clear if consumer products containing talcum powder increase cancer risk. Studies of personal use of talcum powder have had mixed results, although there is some suggestion of a possible increase in ovarian cancer risk. There is very little evidence at this time that any other forms of cancer are linked with consumer use of talcum powder.
Until more information is available, people concerned about using talcum powder may want to avoid or limit their use of consumer products that contain it. For example, they may want to consider using cornstarch-based cosmetic products instead. There is no evidence at this time linking cornstarch powders with any form of cancer.
http://www.axner.com/talc.aspx
These are two cuts from two different websites. Some of us are using Pioneer talc and the component does not list asbestos but it's not usually one of the components listed. Vanderbilt talc has asbestos. Asbestos has been known for over 40 years to cause mesothelioma. If we are aware that pioneer talc has asbestos, we definitely shouldn't have it in our studios. Any other input?