The Food and Drug Administration is set to kill a proposed rule that would have required testing for toxic asbestos, a problem that has been linked to cancer, in talc-based cosmetics.
Talc is widely used, including in cosmetics, food, medicine, and personal care products. The order was signed by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., leader of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement.
A stated cornerstone of the movement, which helped propel Donald Trump to office, is to help eliminate toxins such as asbestos from food, medicine and personal care products. The move has shocked health campaigners
“Having a cancer-causing product in cosmetics is not going to make America any less healthy,” said Scott Faber, vice president of government affairs for the nonprofit Environmental Working Group, which lobbies for stricter regulations around talcum. “It’s hard to understand why we would repeal a rule that only requires companies to test for asbestos.”
The FDA did not immediately post a press release announcing the move, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But in a legal notice posted in the federal registry, the agency wrote that the decision was in response to comments it received about potential “unintended consequences” for the companies producing the drugs, stating that drugmakers were opposed to the trial.
“There is good reason to withdraw the proposed rule at this time,” the notice said.
Asbestos is a group of six naturally occurring fibrous minerals that are used to make products to resist heat, fire, and electricity. No safe level of exposure is considered safe, and it is banned in more than 50 countries. This substance is a known human carcinogen linked to an estimated 40,000 deaths annually.
Cosmetic companies have known since the 1950s that talc could be contaminated with asbestos, Faber said, but the public was not alerted until the early 1970s. Despite this, the industry persuaded the FDA to allow companies to rely on testing methods that could detect some, but not all, of the asbestos fibers.
Asbestos contamination has been routinely found in some talc-based cosmetics, including baby powder, which was disproportionately used by black women. Personal care giant Johnson & Johnson stopped selling US talc-based baby powder in 2020 amid growing public pressure and nearly 38,000 lawsuits.
The company has paid billions of dollars in settlements so far, and has proposed another $6.5 billion settlement for a class lawsuit accusing it of knowingly poisoning consumers. Last month, nearly 3,000 women in Britain took a case to the country’s High Court, alleging Johnson & Johnson poisoned them.
Despite its high toxicity, obvious dangers, and widespread use, regulating it has been a difficult process. The initial 1989 EPA ban on its use in most products was quickly overturned by a court, and efforts to pass similar bans have failed for decades.
Joe Biden’s EPA proposed a ban that was finalized late last year, but the Trump administration withdrew it before reversing course in July.
The Cosmetics Modernization Act 2022 includes provisions that require testing of talc-based cosmetics. The Biden administration began enforcing the rule, but the Trump administration is now set to end it.
In its notice, the FDA said it was working on top priorities in a complex area: “We are withdrawing the proposed rule to reconsider the best means of addressing the issues covered by the proposed rule and the broader principles for reducing asbestos exposure, and to ensure that any standardized test method requirements to detect asbestos in talc-containing cosmetic products protect users of talc-containing cosmetic products from harmful exposure to asbestos. “Helps save.”
Referring to RFK Jr., Faber said, “It’s sad that a guy who has spent most of his career saving people from cancer is doing this.”
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