Lab testing expert Sean Fitzgerald says levels of asbestos he has detected in talc-containing cosmetics likely would expose consumers to the well-known carcinogen at levels above California’s Prop 65 safe harbor. There are questions as to Prop 65’s applicability as currently written, but there is definite interest among California attorneys and trial lawyers, he says.

The Supreme Court said on 1 June that it would not review a $2bn verdict in Missouri for 22 women who alleged links between ovarian cancer and asbestos-tainted talc in Johnson’s Baby Powder. J&J believes the US' top court passed on an "extraordinary opportunity" that "leaves unresolved significant legal questions that state and federal courts will continue to face."

The Environmental Working Group and Scientific Analytical Institute say inadequate testing of talc-containing personal-care products is to blame for findings of asbestos in cosmetics, including three of 21 powder-based cosmetics SAI analyzed at EWG’s request. They continue to push for updated testing standards that include electron microscopy as a core component.