Thousands of Bottles of Baby Powder in US Recalled after Asbestos Find

Pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has recalled over 30,000 bottles of talc. after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identified trace amounts of asbestos during routine testing.

Talc, a very soft mineral, is mined from deposits around the world, which can be contaminated with asbestos. The talc is crushed into a white powder and purified for use in personal care products to absorb moisture.

A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson stated that their talc. is periodically tested for asbestos including as recently as last month, and no asbestos asbestos has been found.

In December 2018, Reuters reported that Johnson & Johnson had known about the presence of asbestos in its baby powder for decades. In its statement, Johnson & Johnson said: "Simply put, the Reuters story is an absurd conspiracy theory...Thousands of independent tests by regulators and the world's leading labs prove our baby powder has never contained asbestos."

An article written by the ABC last year includes a discussion with Professor Bernard Stewart, a scientific advisor for Cancer Council, which addresses some of the concerns around asbestos identified within talcum powder. The article can be found at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-28/is-it-safe-to-use-baby-powder/10630398

New Mr Fluffy Property Identified - Curtin, ACT

A “Mr Fluffy” loose-fill asbestos insulation impacted property has been identified in Curtin, ACT , making it the first such find for almost three years.

The property which was identified as containing the dangerous loose asbestos insulation in early July was added to the ACT government’s list of affected properties on 11 July 2019.

This property is the most recent in a handful of residential properties which were insulated with loose Amosite or Crocidolite asbestos, but which weren’t identified during an asbestos insulation testing program undertaken by the government in the late 1980s. The testing program was conducted with the purpose of identifying residential properties which were insulated with the dangerous mineral fibre. Properties which were identified as being affected were subsequently involved in a bulk asbestos removal program in the late 80s and early 90s and also another buy-back scheme involving the clean and demolition of said properties, which property owners could choose to participate in.

This find raises further concerns around the scope of the initial testing program and whether further properties may be unknowingly contaminated.

L&D offers focused testing of ceiling insulation for asbestos and also includes an assessment of a properties ceiling space as part of our full residential asbestos assessments.

Asbestos cancer deaths neared 700 in 2018

Data recently released from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has revealed that close to 700 Australians died from the asbestos related cancer, Mesothelioma in 2018 with an additional 662 new diagnoses of mesothelioma also confirmed during the same year.

Institute spokesman Justin Harvey said hundreds of people throughout Australia are diagnosed with the disease each year, despite the manufacture of asbestos containing materials (ACM) being banned in the nation since the mid 1980s and the export of asbestos being prohibited for over 15 years.

"Due to its aggressive nature, most cases of mesothelioma have a poor prognosis," Mr Harvey said.

The number of deaths last year from mesothelioma currently sits at 699, but the figure may rise as there may be further fatalities which the Australian Mesothelioma Registry, which has monitored cases of the aggressive and fatal form of cancer since 2010, has yet to be notified of.

A large amount of asbestos remains in Australian buildings, as it was used in construction due to its durability and resistance to fire and chemicals.

These statistics highlight the importance of ensuring that any disturbance of ACM is avoided to prevent release of asbestos fibre which can lead to asbestos fibre exposures associated with Mesothelioma and other asbestos related diseases .

WE HAVE MOVED!!

L&D has just moved office!

Our new office is situated just around the corner from our old office at 4/6 Dacre St, Mitchell. The office will be a work in progress for the next few months but our laboratory is up and running and ready to accept any samples you have for asbestos analysis!

Visit our contact page for office/laboratory opening times.