The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is preparing to scrap a proposed rule that would have required testing for toxic asbestos in talc-based cosmetics, despite longstanding concerns linking the substance to cancer.
Talc is widely used in cosmetics, food, medicines and personal care products. The order was signed by health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, who leads the “Make America Healthy Again” (Maha) movement. A central pledge of the movement, which helped propel Donald Trump to office, was to eliminate toxins such as asbestos from consumer products. The decision has shocked health campaigners.
“Nothing could make America less healthy than having a cancer-causing product in cosmetics,” said Scott Faber, vice-president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, which has lobbied for stricter regulation of talc. “It’s hard to understand why we would revoke a rule that simply requires companies to test for asbestos.”
The FDA has not issued a press release and did not respond to requests for comment. However, a legal notice posted to the federal registry stated that the decision followed concerns raised about “unintended consequences” for pharmaceutical companies, suggesting drugmakers opposed the testing requirement. “Good cause exists to withdraw the proposed rule at this time,” the notice read.
Asbestos is a group of six naturally occurring fibrous minerals used to make products resistant to heat, fire and electricity. It is banned in more than 50 countries, with no level of exposure considered safe. The substance is a recognised human carcinogen, linked to an estimated 40,000 deaths annually.
Campaigners note that cosmetic companies have known since the 1950s that talc can be contaminated with asbestos, but the public was not informed until the early 1970s. Industry pressure led the FDA to permit testing methods that detect only some asbestos fibres, leaving consumers at risk.
Contamination has repeatedly been found in talc-based cosmetics, including baby powder, which was disproportionately marketed to and used by Black women. Johnson & Johnson ended US sales of its talc-based baby powder in 2020 following mounting lawsuits and public pressure. The company has already paid billions in settlements and recently proposed a further $6.5bn settlement in a class action alleging it knowingly harmed consumers. In the UK, around 3,000 women last month brought a case to the High Court claiming the company poisoned them.
Efforts to regulate asbestos have faced decades of setbacks. An Environmental Protection Agency ban introduced in 1989 was overturned by the courts, and subsequent attempts to pass similar bans have failed. Joe Biden’s EPA finalised a ban last year, but the Trump administration initially moved to withdraw it before reversing course in July.
The Cosmetics Modernisation Act of 2022 required testing of talc-based cosmetics, and the Biden administration began implementing the rule. The Trump administration is now poised to end it.
In its notice, the FDA said it was acting in line with Maha priorities: “We are withdrawing the proposed rule to reconsider best means of addressing the issues covered by the proposed rule and broader principles to reduce exposure to asbestos, and to ensure that any standardised testing method requirements for detecting asbestos in talc-containing cosmetic products help protect users from harmful exposure.”
Faber criticised Kennedy Jr’s role in the decision. “It’s tragic that a person who has spent most of his career protecting people from cancer is doing this,” he said.
