Last month, we talked about recent allegations of asbestos in children’s makeup sold by Claire’s. In that instance, after finding it in an initial test requested by a suspicious parent, a laboratory reported finding asbestos in 24 additional items from different store locations across the country.
Makeup is at risk of asbestos contamination if it contains talc, a mineral that can be contaminated by asbestos because when talc is mined, asbestos deposits may also be tapped.
Because of this disturbing news, U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., introduced the Children’s Product Warning Label Act of 2018 on February 7. This legislation would require that any cosmetic product that is marketed to children either be proven free of asbestos to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, known as the FDA, by means of the “transmission electron microscopy method” or otherwise include a warning on its label.
The representative in a press release spoke of being “stunned” when Claire’s removed 17 items like eye shadow and glitter from the sales floor for asbestos contamination. She explained that her bill would take “common sense steps” to protect children from asbestos in the short run, but that a “broad overhaul of FDA’s authority over cosmetics and personal care products is long overdue and is the best way to address this problem.”
Rep. Dingell calls for making new legislation that would give the FDA additional authority to regulate cosmetics and similar products a priority for Congress in 2018 to keep them safer from harmful ingredients.
