News Brief

New Cancer Concerns with Titanium Dioxide Pigment

Current Intelligence Bulletin from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), titled “Occupational Exposure to Titanium Dioxide,” highlights the new health concerns for titanium dioxide (TiO2). NIOSH now recommends reducing exposure to as little as possible, below the previously recommended exposure limits (of 2.4 mg/m3 for fine particles and 0.3 mg/m3 for ultrafine and nanoscale, as time-weighted average [TWA] concentrations for up to 10 hours per day during a 40-hour work week). NIOSH explains that the carcinogen effects are “primarily related to particle size and surface area,” not to TiO2 itself. Ultrafine particles penetrate further into the lungs and have been linked to persistent inflammation, tissue damage, fibrosis, and lung cancer in rats. The bulletin can be downloaded at www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2011-160/.

 

Published June 1, 2011

Emily, C. (2011, June 1). New Cancer Concerns with Titanium Dioxide Pigment. Retrieved from https://www.buildinggreen.com/newsbrief/new-cancer-concerns-titanium-dioxide-pigment

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