To
Chairman
National Human Rights Commission
Manav Adhikar Bhawan
Block-C, GPO Complex, INA,
New Delhi – 110023
Date: May 26, 2020
Subject-
Doublespeak and Double Standards of Johnson & Johnson cause of ongoing
exposure of Indians to hazardous asbestos mineral fibers contaminated Talcum Powder
Sir,
This
is to draw your immediate attention towards the announcement dated May 19, 2020
by Johnson & Johnson, a multinational company headquartered in New
Brunswick, New Jersey, USA stating that it will discontinue sale of its Talcum Powder
products in North America. This announcement is aimed at safeguarding the
health and human rights of residents and citizens of North America but not the
residents and citizens of India. Such doublespeak and double standard in
matters of public health in general and children’s health in particular merits urgent intervention of the Commission. (Reference: Statement of Johnson
& Johnson, May 19, 2020, https://www.jnj.com/our-company/johnson-johnson-consumer-health-announces-discontinuation-of-talc-based-johnsons-baby-powder-in-u-s-and-canada)
We
wish to point out that “the Company will wind down the commercialization of
talc-based Johnson’s Baby Powder in the U.S. and Canada in the coming months.
Existing inventory will continue to be sold through retailers until it runs
out.” The news report titled Johnson
& Johnson to End Talc-Based Baby Powder Sales in North America published
in The New York Times merits
attention as well. (Reference: Tiffany Hsu and Roni Caryn Rabin, May 19, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/19/business/johnson-baby-powder-sales-stopped.html).
We
submit that Word Health Organisation (WHO)’s International Agency for Cancer
Research (IARC) has recognized presence of asbestos in talcum powder. IARC Monograph on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic
Risks to Humans on Carbon Black, Titanium Dioxide, and Talc (2010) refers
to the presence of asbestos in talcum powder. It also refers to "Use of
talc for feminine hygiene". The use of body powder for feminine hygiene
can be estimated from the prevalence reported for controls in case–control
studies that investigated the association between the use of cosmetic talc for
feminine hygiene and the risk for ovarian cancer. It refers to exposure to
respirable dust during the use of talcum powders on the face, body and babies.
Talc is used as a surface lubricant on the majority of condoms manufactured;
contact with condoms may also represent a direct means of exposure of the
female genital tract to talc. Exposure to talc can also occur during surgical procedures
when using powdered gloves. Talc particles were observed in the navels of small
children, in the testes, on the vocal cords, in the urinary bladder tract and after
removal of varicous veins. Besides this the Food Chemical Codex (2003) provides
specifications for food-grade talc, including the statement that “talc derived
from deposits that are known to contain associated asbestos is not food grade.”
Under the voluntary guidelines initiated in 1976, the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and
Fragrances Association stated that all cosmetic talc should contain at least
90% platy talc (hydrated magnesium silicate) that is free from detectable amounts
of fibrous, asbestos minerals. Meanwhile, some 67 countries have banned all
kinds of asbestos. World Health Organisation (WHO)’s recommendations have
established the infectious nature of Covid-19, the same WHO has underlined that
“All types of asbestos cause lung cancer, mesothelioma, cancer of the larynx
and ovary, and asbestosis (fibrosis of the lungs).” (Reference: https://www.who.int/ipcs/assessment/public_health/asbestos/en/
and https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/asbestos-elimination-of-asbestos-related-diseases)
We
submit that the Commission. must recommend the enviro-occupational health audit
of the workers who handle asbestos laden talcum powder in the manufacturing
facilities of talcum powder products in general besides the health audit of the
communities who are in the vicinity of such factories and recommend adequate
compensation for those who are exposed to the carcinogenic mineral fibers and
are suffering from asbestos related diseases. This will be also relevant for
assessing the harm which the unsuspecting consumers continue to face. These
consumers include all judges, legislators, officials, their children and grandchildren
and the residents of India.
Earlier,
an investigative report titled “Johnson & Johnson knew for decades that
asbestos lurked in its Baby Powder” was published on December, 14, 2018 which
too is relevant for protecting the human rights of Indians. The investigation
was conducted by Reuters, a 167 year old international news agency
headquartered in London. This investigative report is consistent with the
findings of a study by India’s Industrial Toxicology Research Centre (IITR),
Lucknow, a constituent laboratory of Council of Scientific & Industrial
Research (CSIR), Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India on
“Exposure risk to contaminants in pharmaceutical and cosmetic powders” has found
that “There are different types of cosmetic powders such as body powder, baby
powder, face powder, eye shadow and powdered blush as well as pharmaceutical
powders available in the market. Both the sexes of all age groups are using
these powders. These are talc - based. Talc is a mineral product and often
contaminated with asbestos fibres.”
The
aim of the IITR study “was to investigate the safety of such powders being sold
in the market, initially by analyzing the asbestos content. Five branded
samples of talcum powder were analysed and all were found contaminated with
asbestos fibres. Asbestos fibre contamination in these powders ranged from 10.3
– 15.4%. Fibre length study on two samples revealed that asbestos fibres were
22.8 – 34.7%, 48.2 – 55.1% and 17.1 – 22.1% in the range of <10 10="" 20="" and="" m=""> 20µm, respectively. The study indicates risk of human exposure
to asbestos through the use of naturally contaminated talcum powder. It is
noteworthy that asbestos takes many years to cause asbestosis and carcinogenic
malignancies which are irreversible. It also necessitates a regular monitoring
and surveillance on all the cosmetic and pharmaceutical powders being marketed
for asbestos contamination.” This has been published in the Annual Report
Annual Report 2005-2006 of IITR. IITR is accredited by National Accreditation
Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) for chemical and
biological testing and is recognized for GLP (Good Laboratory Practice)
toxicity testing. (Reference: http://www.itrcindia.org/ITRC_Annual_Report_2005-06.pdf
)
The
investigation by Reuters corroborates the findings of IITR. This recent
investigation was undertaken in the wake of three verdicts in New Jersey,
California and St. Louis awarding compensation to plaintiffs who blamed
asbestos-tainted Johnson & Johnson talc products for their mesothelioma, a
type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of
the internal organs. The connection between asbestos exposure and mesothelioma
was discovered in the 1970s. The third verdict was a watershed in in St. Louis:
The 22 plaintiffs were the first to succeed with a claim that asbestos-tainted
Baby Powder and Shower to Shower talc, a longtime brand the company sold in
2012 that caused ovarian cancer, which is much more common than mesothelioma.
The jury awarded them $4.69 billion in damages. Most of the talc cases have
been brought by women with ovarian cancer who say they regularly used Johnson
and Johnson talc products as a perineal antiperspirant and deodorant. The
inclusion of ovarian cancer besides mesothelioma has broadened the potential
liability of Johnson & Johnson, a 132 year old multinational medical
devices, pharmaceutical and consumer packaged goods manufacturing company
headquartered in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.
Earlier,
British Medical Journal (BMJ) published an article titled “Jury awards $4.7bn
damages against Johnson & Johnson in talcum cancer case” published in the
renowned British Medical Journal (BMJ). As per BMJ’s article, “More than 9000
former US talcum customers have lodged suits against the company. Most claim
damages for ovarian cancer, but some allege that using the product led them to
develop mesothelioma. The award is by far the biggest yet against Johnson and
Johnson in litigation relating to talcum powder and the first case in which
plaintiffs alleged that asbestos in talcum powder caused their disease. The
verdict was handed down in the Circuit Court of the City of St. Louis. ((Reference:
BMJ 2018; 362 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k3135)
We reiterate
that this investigative report is of deep relevance for the public health of
present and future generation of Indians given the fact that Johnson &
Johnson company has admittedly been in India for last 70 years. The company has
brought many products in consumer healthcare, medical devices and
pharmaceuticals. In 1947, Johnson & Johnson expanded into India, marketing
Johnson’s Baby Powder. In September 1957, Johnson & Johnson incorporated as
a legal entity in India. The production in its first manufacturing facility
began in 1959 at the Johnson & Johnson India plant in Mulund, Mumbai, for
Johnson’s Baby Powder and other specialized products. In 1968, the company
introduces the Stayfree brand to India. A situation emerged wherein Johnson
& Johnson reached almost every household in India.
The
Reuters investigative report refers to the findings of Dr. Irving J. Selikoff
who had conclusively established a link between the inhalation of asbestos
particles and lung-related ailments in the 1960s itself that paved the way for
ban on asbestos of all kinds in some 60 countries. Dr. Selikoff was the
director of the Environmental and Occupational Health Division of Mount Sinai
Hospital in New York. It is significant that Ms Lisa Girion of Reuters has
shared the official documents on the basis of which she has made these
startling claims in her investigative report.
We wish
to reiterate that in a Terms of Reference dated October 25, 2010 issued by
Union Environment & Forests Ministry for a proposed Asbestos cement sheet
and accessories manufacturing unit of 1,80,000 Tonnes Per Annum capacity at
Narsimharaopalem Village, Veerulupadu Tehsil, Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh
by M/s Sahyadri Industries Limited made reference to "talc and
chrysotile”.
Prior
to the Reuters report, a 2014 paper published in the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
titled "Asbestos in commercial cosmetic talcum powder as a cause of
mesothelioma in women" by Ronald E Gordon et al concluded "we found
that a specific brand of talcum powder contained identifiable asbestos fibers
with the potential to be released into the air and inhaled during normal
personal talcum powder application. We also found that asbestos fibers
consistent with those found in the same cosmetic talc product were present in
the lungs and lymph node tissues of a woman who used this brand of talc powder
and developed and died from mesothelioma. This study was published in October
2014. (Reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4164883/)
We
submit that the investigation by Reuters reveals that “Johnson & Johnson
developed a strategy in the 1970s to deal with a growing volume of research
showing that talc miners had elevated rates of lung disease and cancer: Promote
the positive, challenge the negative. That approach was summed up by a J&J
applied research director in a “strictly confidential” March 3, 1975, memo to
managers of the baby products division, which used the talc in J&J’s
signature Baby Powder. Its approach reads: “Our current posture with respect to
the sponsorship of talc safety studies has been to initiate studies only as
dictated by confrontation,” the memo said. “This philosophy, so far, has
allowed us to neutralize or hold in check data already generated by investigators
who question the safety of talc.” It reveals that scientific ghostwriters have
been hired for long to hide evidence of “cancer concern associated with
exposure to talc.” Based on an Italian study, one such ghost authored article
that appeared in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, in
1976 found no mesothelioma, the signature cancer of asbestos exposure. The
Italian study in question has been updated three times – in 1979, 2003 and 2017
– “confirming the lack of association between exposure to asbestos-free talc,
lung cancer and mesothelioma.” The investigative underlines that Johnson &
Johnson got a lot of mileage out of the study. It was cited in a review article
titled “The Biology of Talc,” published Nov. 1, 1976, in the British Journal of
Industrial Medicine.
In
addition to dozens of published studies, the review cited unpublished research,
including one experiment that used a doll as a proxy for infants and that
supported the company’s position on the safety of talc. It didn’t disclose that
Johnson & Johnson had commissioned the unpublished research. The author of
the review article concluded that the “concern that has been expressed about
the possible health hazard from consumer exposure to cosmetic talc is
unwarranted … There is no evidence that its normal use poses a hazard to
health.” The author was Hildick-Smith, the Johnson & Johnson physician
executive who had overseen the Italian study and played a key role in the
company’s talc safety research. The article did not disclose his Johnson &
Johnson connection, identifying him only as a Rutgers University Clinical
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics.
In a
related event, I was a panelist at a Round Table Conference on Issues Related
to Asbestos Use in India held at India International Centre, New Delhi on
December 21, 2009, wherein Dr Iqbal Ahmad, a scientist from IITR, Lucknow said
that there are many different sources of asbestos exposures which need to be
looked at. He identified talc (powder) as a major source which has asbestos
contamination and exposes a large section of population, especially children
and women. Talc is used in several industries as raw material. He said that we
do have numbers of talc based cosmetic powders in India. China is the largest
producer of talc. Some 47 companies which used to procure Chinese talc powder
had to withdraw their product from market in South Korea due to high asbestos
contamination.
We submit that Commission’s intervention will be germane in
the light of the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court in Consumer Education and
Research Centre (CERC) Vs Union of India (1995 AIR 922, 1995 SCC (3) 42)
that recognized right to health as part of right to life and had directed
central and state governments to revise their law related asbestos in keeping
with fresh resolutions of International Labour Organisation (ILO). ILO’s asbestos
related resolution of June 2006 is relevant in this regard (Reference: https://www.ilo.org/safework/info/standards-and-instruments/WCMS_108556/lang--en/index.htm
. The ILO resolution was followed by a joint
publication of WHO and ILO titled "Outline for the Development of National
Programmes for Elimination of Asbestos-Related Diseases" published in
December 2007. It creates a logical compulsion for urgent remedial action. (Reference:
https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/safety-and-health-at-work/resources-library/publications/WCMS_108555/lang--en/index.htm)
In
view of the above, we submit that instead of waiting for the coo withdraw its asbestos-laden
talcum powder products-both baby powder and adult powder, the Commission must consider
recommending to the central government and state governments to prevent preventable
diseases and deaths by banning these products with immediate effect.
Thanking You
Yours faithfully
Gopal Krishna
ToxicsWatch Alliance (TWA)
Occupational Health India (OHI)
Mb: 9818089660
E-mail:krishnaruhani@gmail.com
Web: www.toxicswatch.org
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