Baby Powder Recalled Over Asbestos Contamination Concern

Dynarex Corporation is voluntarily recalling several cases of baby powder from the market after it was found to be potentially contaminated with asbestos.
The product was also sold online on Amazon.
Although there have been no illnesses or adverse events reported to date, New Jersey-based Dynarex has ceased distribution of the product while an investigation proceeds to determine what caused the contamination of the talc.
“During talc mining, if talc mining sites are not selected carefully or steps taken to purify the talc ore sufficiently, the talc may be contaminated with asbestos,” said the Dynarex press release.
The recalled baby powder is packaged in 14-ounce plastic bottles, with 24 bottles in a single case. The batch/lot number is B051, and the expiration date for the product is December 2026.
“In fact, it is thought that most mesotheliomas are due to asbestos exposure,” said the National Cancer Institute. “Asbestos exposure may also increase the risk of asbestosis (an inflammatory condition affecting the lungs that can cause shortness of breath, coughing, and permanent lung damage) and other nonmalignant lung and pleural disorders, including pleural plaques (changes in the membranes surrounding the lung), pleural thickening, and benign pleural effusions (abnormal collections of fluid between the thin layers of tissue lining the lungs and the wall of the chest cavity).”
People affiliated with pleural plaques are at significant risk of developing lung cancer. Asbestos poisoning happens when individuals get exposed to the mineral for a prolonged period of time.
Asbestos-related diseases take 10 to 40 years for symptoms to emerge. The typical symptoms include a shortness of breath, wheezing, or hoarseness, a persistent cough that gets worse over time, and blood in the fluid coughed up from the lungs, according to the Cancer Institute.