The TRUTH About Talc Baby Powder

BOTH talc and cornstarch are sterilized with TOXIC ETHYLENE OXIDE

Date Created: 2025, August 15

Keywords: talc, cornstarch, baby, powder, toxic, cancer, asbestos, ethylene oxide

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The first article I wrote regarding health issues associated with talc was in 2013, almost two years before the first talc harms were blamed on trace amounts of asbestos in the United States. In India, the use of ethylene oxide for sterilizing talc in Johnson & Johnson's baby powder became a significant issue when the Maharashtra FDA raised concerns in 2013. The FDA in India noted that ethylene oxide was used to re-sterilize expired talc batches without an approved standard operating procedure. This led to regulatory actions, including the cancellation of Johnson & Johnson's license to manufacture cosmetics at its Mulund facility."These multinationals must stop treating Indians as guinea pigs. If this had happened in the US, we can't imagine the proportions in terms of scandal."

However, the use of ethylene oxide was happening in the United States. Oddly enough, there was never any mention of ethylene oxide as a sterilizing agent. The cause of harms to health due to ethylene oxide residue in baby powder, both talc AND cornstarch powders was never blamed on ethylene oxide residue - in the United States, the cause of harm was dumped on a convenient scapegoat: trace amounts of asbestos.

When I explain this, people often claim that well, it could have been BOTH. Um, gee, then why has ethylene oxide NEVER been blamed for ANY harms to health caused by ethylene oxide residue found in baby powder?

After talc-based baby powders were claimed to have asbestos contamination, many consumers assume cornstarch = safer, without realizing that:

The sterilization method—ethylene oxide (EtO)—can still pose serious risks, regardless of whether the powder is made of talc or cornstarch.

Ethylene oxide began being used as a sterilizing agent for talc and baby powder in the late 1950s to early 1960s. This method was introduced to reduce microbial contamination, especially in cosmetic and pharmaceutical products. The process was adopted because ethylene oxide is effective at killing bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms without using high temperatures that could alter the product's properties. Ethylene oxide (EtO) has been used to sterilize both talc-based and cornstarch-based baby powders—but not always, and not by all manufacturers or in all countries.

The use of ethylene oxide has been scrutinized in recent years due to concerns about its carcinogenic potential and the residual levels of the chemical in products.

What’s proven about ethylene oxide (EtO):

Class 1 human carcinogen (IARC) Added: 1994
Causes leukemia, lymphoma, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer and damage to DNA and chromosomes as well as genetic changes that can be passed down to offspring with chronic exposure.

Leaves behind toxic byproducts:

Ethylene chlorohydrin toxic via skin contact. Poisoning causes liver and kidney degeneration and irritates mucous membranes. Can cause brain and lung edema (swelling).

Ethylene glycol is a skin, eye and respiratory tract irritant. Can harm kidneys. Rodent studies show affect on animal fetuses such as increased preimplantation loss, delayed ossification (bone hardening) and fetal malformations.

Ethylene oxide (EtO) has not been outright banned for sterilizing talc powders in the United States, but its use has come under stricter regulation due to health and environmental concerns. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has tightened standards for ethylene oxide emissions from sterilization facilities, particularly those used for medical devices and certain products, in an effort to reduce cancer risks associated with EtO exposure. These regulations, finalized in 2024, mandate a 90% reduction in EtO emissions from sterilizers but do not explicitly prohibit its use.

NOTE:As of July 21, 2025: Ethylene oxide emissions standards for device sterilizers has been delayed by two years due to "severe burdens" on facilities affected with the goal of total deregulation of waste entering the environment. Environmental releases adds to air pollution, ozone formation and increases the risk of developing lung cancer and lymphoid cancers. It took thirty years from the time this toxin was finally added to the IARC as a CLASS 1 CARCINOGEN to get reasonable restrictions for environmental release - all undone. Is he trying to kill all of us off?

In addition to body powders, here’s a breakdown of the types of pharmaceutical and medical products commonly sterilized with ethylene oxide:

1. Talc (Pharmaceutical-grade)
Used as an excipient in tablets and as dusting powder (e.g., baby powder). EtO used to kill microbes when gamma or steam sterilization would alter its properties.

2. Powdered drugs or excipients
Some bulk pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and excipients such as starches and gums. EtO was used to sterilize them without affecting chemical stability.

3. Herbal preparations
Certain dried plant materials used in traditional or complementary medicine. EtO was sometimes used when other sterilization methods would degrade active compounds.

4. Medical Devices & Drug Delivery Systems
EtO is still one of the most common methods for sterilizing complex medical devices:
1. Prefilled syringes and IV sets
2. Catheters and urinary bags
3. Surgical kits and bandages
4. Plastic containers for sterile liquids
5. Inhalers and aerosol delivery devices
6. Implants (e.g., drug-eluting stents)
7. Blister packs with heat-sensitive drug forms

Johnson & Johnson stopped selling talc-based baby powder in the U.S. and Canada in 2020, and globally in 2023, shifting to cornstarch-based formulations.

The marketing shift to cornstarch is a PR fix, not necessarily a health fix.

Sterilization practices didn’t automatically change when the ingredient did. Cornstarch, being plant-based, actually needs more aggressive sterilization in some cases due to mold or bacterial risks—EtO is still the easy solution. Residue testing isn't publicly disclosed, and consumers have no way to verify what's on the shelves.

The health harms were not due to talc containing traces of asbestos. It was the toxic residues from using ethylene oxide as a sterilizing agent.

The obsession with talc and asbestos let manufacturers and regulators off the hook for something worse: A toxic sterilization system that poisons the most vulnerable—without our knowledge or consent.

Whether it’s talc or cornstarch, if ethylene oxide is still used, nothing has really changed.


Updated Content:
RESOURCE LIST:

1. Rosy Sequeira (2013, July 27). MNCs should stop using Indians as guinea pigs: FDA to high court Times of India. Retrieved from Link to source...
 
2. IARC (1994, unknown unknown). Summaries & Evaluations ETHYLENE OXIDE (Group 1) International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Retrieved from Link to source...
 
3. PubChem (2005, March 26). Ethylene chlorohydrin PubChem. Retrieved from Link to source...
 
4. PubChem (2004, September 19). Ethylene glycol PubChem. Retrieved from Link to source...
 
5. MATTHEW DALY (2024, March 14). EPA tightens limits on a chemical used to sterilize medical equipment, citing cancer risk AP. Retrieved from Link to source...
 
6. Elise Reuter (2025, July 21). Trump delays ethylene oxide emissions standards for device sterilizers ***publication***. Retrieved from Link to source...
 
7. Reuters (2022, August 12). J&J to end global sales of talc-based baby powder Reuters. Retrieved from Link to source...