27/03/2007
On March 12, the French National Institute for Research and Security (INRS) announced that the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) had recently classified titanium dioxide as a Group 2B carcinogen possibly harmful to humans. So far, the substance had a category 3 classification and no evidence indicated it was carcinogenic to humans.

Titanium dioxide is widely used to provide whiteness and opacity to paints, plastics, papers, inks, foods and toothpastes. It is also used in cosmetics and skin care products and is present in almost every sunblock. The production of titanium dioxide worldwide is estimated at 4.4 million tons annually.

On its website, the INRS states that “there is adequate proof that high concentrations of pigment-grade (powdered) and ultrafine titanium dioxide dust are present in dusty environments, causing lung cancer in animals and possibly in people exposed to such conditions”.

Therefore, the IARC believes that findings on animals also apply to people exposed to this substance at the workplace.