[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 7 (Friday, January 10, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1317-1320]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-00259]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Food and Drug Administration

[Docket No. FDA-2020-N-0025]


Testing Methods for Asbestos in Talc and Cosmetic Products 
Containing Talc; Public Meeting; Request for Comments

AGENCY: Food and Drug Administration, HHS.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA or we) is announcing a 
public meeting entitled ``Testing Methods for Asbestos in Talc and 
Cosmetic Products Containing Talc.'' The purpose of the public meeting 
is to discuss and obtain scientific information on topics related to 
testing methodologies, terminology, and criteria that can be applied to 
characterize and measure asbestos and other potentially harmful 
elongate mineral particles (EMPs) that may be present as contaminants 
in talc and cosmetic products manufactured using talc as an ingredient.

DATES: The public meeting will be held on February 4, 2020, from 8:30 
a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, or until after the last public commenter 
has spoken, whichever occurs first. Submit requests to make oral 
presentations and comments at the public meeting by January 17, 2020. 
Electronic or written comments on this meeting will be accepted until 
March 4, 2020. See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document for information about early registration, requesting special 
accommodations due to disability, and other information regarding 
meeting participation.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be held at the Food and Drug 
Administration, White Oak Campus, 10903 New Hampshire Ave., Building 31 
Conference Center, The Great Room (Rm. 1503), Silver Spring, MD 20993. 
Entrance for the public meeting participants (non-FDA employees) is 
through Building 1, where routine security check procedures will be 
performed. For parking and security information, please refer to 
https://www.fda.gov/AboutFDA/WorkingatFDA/BuildingsandFacilities/WhiteOakCampusInformation/ucm241740.htm.
    FDA is establishing a docket for public comment on this meeting. 
The docket number is FDA-2020-N-0025. The docket will close on March 4, 
2020. Submit either electronic or written comments on or before March 
4, 2020. The electronic filing system will accept comments until 11:59 
p.m. Eastern Time at the end of March 4, 2020. Comments received by 
mail/hand delivery/courier (for written/paper submissions) will be 
considered timely if they are postmarked or the delivery service 
acceptance receipt is on or before that date. Please note that late, 
untimely filed comments will not be considered.

Electronic Submissions

    Submit electronic comments in the following way:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments. Comments submitted 
electronically, including attachments, to https://www.regulations.gov 
will be posted to the docket unchanged. Because your comment will be 
made public, you are solely responsible for ensuring that your comment 
does not include any confidential information that you or a third party 
may not wish to be posted, such as medical information, your or anyone 
else's Social Security number, or confidential business information, 
such as a manufacturing process. Please note that if you include your 
name, contact information, or other information that identifies you in 
the body of your comments, that information will be posted on https://www.regulations.gov.
     If you want to submit a comment with confidential 
information that you do not wish to be made available to the public, 
submit the comment as a written/paper submission and in the manner 
detailed below (see ``Written/Paper Submissions'' and 
``Instructions'').

Written/Paper Submissions

    Submit written/paper submissions as follows:
     Mail/Hand Delivery/Courier (for written/paper 
submissions): Dockets Management Staff (HFA-305), Food and Drug 
Administration, 5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.
     For written/paper comments submitted to the Dockets 
Management Staff, FDA will post your comment, as well as any 
attachments, except for information submitted, marked and identified, 
as confidential, if submitted as detailed in ``Instructions.''
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket No. 
FDA-2020-N-0025 for ``Testing Methods for Asbestos in Talc and Cosmetic 
Products Containing Talc.'' Received comments, those filed in a timely 
manner (see ADDRESSES), will be placed in the docket and, except for 
those submitted as ``Confidential Submissions,'' publicly viewable at 
https://www.regulations.gov or at the Dockets Management Staff between 
9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
     Confidential Submissions--To submit a comment with 
confidential information that you do not wish to be made publicly 
available, submit your comments only as a written/paper submission. You 
should submit two copies total. One copy will include the information 
you claim to be confidential with a heading or cover note that states 
``THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION.'' We will review 
this copy, including the claimed confidential information, in our 
consideration of comments. The second copy, which will have the claimed 
confidential information redacted/blacked out, will be available for 
public viewing and posted on https://www.regulations.gov. Submit both 
copies to the Dockets Management Staff. If you do not wish your name 
and contact information to be made publicly available, you can provide 
this information on the cover sheet and not in the body of your 
comments and you must identify this information as ``confidential.'' 
Any information marked as ``confidential'' will not be disclosed except 
in accordance with 21 CFR 10.20 and other applicable disclosure law. 
For more information about FDA's posting of comments to public dockets, 
see 80 FR 56469, September 18, 2015, or access the information at: 
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2015-09-18/pdf/2015-23389.pdf.
    Docket: For access to the docket to read background documents or 
the electronic and written/paper comments received, go to https://www.regulations.gov and insert the docket number, found in brackets in 
the heading of this document, into the ``Search'' box and follow the 
prompts and/or go to the Dockets Management Staff, 5630 Fishers Lane, 
Rm. 1061, Rockville, MD 20852.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Denise Hodge, Food and Drug 
Administration, Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, 5001 
Campus Dr. (HFS-125), College Park, MD 20740,

[[Page 1318]]

301-796-7739, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    Talc is used in a wide variety of consumer products, including 
cosmetics. Talc is mined as a naturally occurring hydrous magnesium 
silicate and may be contaminated with asbestos fibers due to the 
proximity of asbestos to talc deposits. Asbestos is a known human 
carcinogen, and its health risks are well documented. Inhalation of 
asbestos is a safety concern because it can cause the formation of 
scar-like tissue in the lung, resulting in asbestosis, or it may lead 
to the development of lung cancers and malignant mesothelioma.
    In 1976, the cosmetics industry implemented voluntary asbestos 
testing of talc raw materials using the Cosmetic, Toiletry, and 
Fragrance Association (CTFA) J4-1 (Ref. 1) method in response to test 
results indicating asbestos to be present. Talc suppliers to the 
pharmaceutical industry use a similar method to certify that talc meets 
the United States Pharmacopeia's (USP's) requirement for ``Absence of 
Asbestos'' (Ref. 2). To date, both methods, which rely on the use of x 
ray diffraction (XRD) or infrared (IR) spectroscopy followed by 
polarized light microscopy (PLM) only if XRD or IR is positive for 
amphibole or serpentine minerals in talc, remain standard test methods 
despite long-recognized shortcomings in specificity and sensitivity 
compared with electron microscopy-based methods. In 2010, FDA asked the 
USP to consider revising the current tests for asbestos in talc to 
ensure adequate specificity, and, in 2014, the Talc USP expert panel 
recommended an update of the Talc USP monograph to require an electron 
microscopy method for the measurement of asbestos in talc (Refs. 3 and 
4). Recent testing of cosmetics by private laboratories \1\ using 
transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has revealed the presence of 
asbestos fibers in samples that had negative findings for the same 
products using polarized light microscopy, thus highlighting the 
shortcomings of optical microscopy methods.
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    \1\ See AMA testing results at FDA's Investigation of Reports of 
Asbestos Contamination in Cosmetics 2017-2019 tab at https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/talc.
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    FDA monitors for asbestos in talc-containing cosmetic products, 
including directing its sampling of products toward confirming reports 
from various laboratories that have reported asbestos using electron 
microscopy. For example, in 2010, shortly after reports of asbestos 
contaminated talc-containing products in Asia, FDA surveyed 34 cosmetic 
products,\2\ including body powders, face powders, foundation, eye 
shadow, blush, and samples from four major talc suppliers and found no 
asbestos contamination using the most sensitive techniques available. 
FDA's survey was limited in scope but served to provide data from 
testing using TEM, currently regarded by many experts as the most 
reliable technique for detecting asbestos fibers (see Ref. 4). In July 
2017, FDA began investigating reports of asbestos contamination of 
cosmetic products that contained talc, presumably originating from talc 
that was used as an ingredient in the cosmetic products. In 2019, FDA 
surveyed 50 talc-containing cosmetic products. In March, June, August, 
and October 2019, FDA confirmed the presence of chrysotile and/or 
tremolite asbestos in several cosmetic products, which were voluntarily 
recalled by the companies. The use of TEM was critical in detecting 
asbestos in these cosmetic products.
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    \2\ https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetic-ingredients/talc.
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    Even when using the most sensitive electron microscopy methods, 
laboratories testing the same product may reach different conclusions 
about the presence of asbestos. These differences may be attributed to 
a lack of a uniform standard for testing which provides unambiguous 
guidelines for identifying and counting asbestos fibers. Thus, at FDA's 
request, on November 28, 2018, the Joint Institute for Food Safety and 
Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN) convened an ``Asbestos in Talc'' symposium 
to provide a forum for experts in asbestos mineral analysis, 
academicians, and government officials to share knowledge and 
experience.\3\ The discussions focused on the toolbox of available 
testing methods for analysis of asbestos in talc and talc-containing 
cosmetic products, criteria used for asbestos fiber identification and 
counting in current published methods, and how analytical microscopy 
data might be interpreted in making decisions about the suitability of 
cosmetic products found to contain asbestos and other potentially 
harmful mineral particles.
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    \3\ https://jifsan.umd.edu/events/2018-asbestos-in-talc-symposium.
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    During the fall of 2018, FDA formed an interagency working group on 
asbestos in consumer products (IWGACP). The IWGACP consists of 38 
subject matter experts from the following U.S. federal agencies: FDA, 
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), National 
Institutes of Health/National Institute of Environmental Health 
Sciences, Occupational Safety and Health Administration, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Consumer Product Safety Commission, National 
Institute of Standards and Technology, and Department of Interior's 
U.S. Geological Survey. The IWGACP was asked to support the development 
of standardized testing methods for asbestos and other mineral 
particles of concern that could potentially affect consumer product 
safety. The IWGACP was tasked to address terminology and definitions of 
asbestos and other EMPs of health concern in talc and talc-containing 
consumer products, recommend methodological improvements for measuring 
asbestos in talc and talc-containing consumer products, and recommend 
laboratory reporting standards for testing talc and talc-containing 
consumer products. The IWGACP is also addressing issues regarding 
asbestos contamination in talc-containing cosmetic products, the 
presumptive source of asbestos, as well as scientific and technical 
information shared at the JIFSAN Symposium and how that information 
could be used by different government agencies. The IWGACP is comprised 
of three subgroups formed to address the following topics: (1) 
Terminology and definitions of asbestos and other EMPs of health 
concern in talc; (2) development of a robust analytical protocol for 
detecting asbestos and other EMPs of health concern in talc and 
consumer products containing talc; and (3) data reporting and analysis.

II. Purpose of the Public Meeting

    FDA is interested in obtaining information to further the 
development of standardized testing methods to improve sensitivity, 
consistency, and inter-laboratory concurrence of asbestos testing of 
talc used in cosmetic products and of talc-containing cosmetic 
products. Toward this end, at the public meeting, IWGACP members will 
present preliminary recommendations (summarized in section IV.C) on 
testing methods, including criteria to be used for asbestos fiber 
identification and counting. We will also seek additional information 
on these topics at the meeting. We do not intend for this meeting to 
produce any decisions or new positions on specific regulatory 
questions. However, we expect this meeting to be an important step in 
our continued efforts to gather information, including data to improve 
the consistency in terminology, analytical protocols, and data 
reporting for

[[Page 1319]]

asbestos and other potentially harmful mineral particles that may be 
present as contaminants in talc and cosmetic products containing talc 
and provide information that can be used for future discussions on 
health effects.

III. Participating in the Public Meeting

    Registration: To register to attend the public meeting on ``Testing 
Methods for Asbestos in Talc and Cosmetic Products Containing Talc,'' 
either in person or by webcast, please register at https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-news-events/meetings-conferences-workshops-cosmetics by January 28, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Please 
provide complete contact information for each attendee, including name, 
title, affiliation, and email and whether you want to attend in person 
or by webcast. The FDA Conference Center at the White Oak location is a 
Federal facility with security procedures and limited seating. 
Attendance will be free and based on space and availability. Early 
registration is recommended because seating is limited; therefore, FDA 
may limit the number of participants from each organization. 
Registrants will receive confirmation when they have been accepted for 
in-person attendance. If time and space permit, onsite registration on 
the day of the public meeting will be provided beginning at 7:30 a.m. 
We will inform registrants if registration closes before the day of the 
public meeting. Persons attending this meeting are advised that FDA is 
not responsible for providing access to electrical outlets. FDA will 
make every effort to accommodate persons with physical disabilities or 
special needs. If you need special accommodations due to a disability, 
please contact Denise Hodge (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT) no 
later than January 17, 2020.
    Requests for Oral Presentations: During online registration you may 
indicate if you wish to make a formal presentation (with up to five 
slides) or present oral comments during the public comment session 
(with no slides), and you may indicate which topic(s) you would like to 
address. Oral presentations can only be made in person at the meeting. 
FDA will do its best to accommodate requests to make public 
presentations. We seek a broad representation of ideas and issues 
presented at the meeting. We urge individuals and organizations with 
common interests to consolidate or coordinate their presentations and 
request time for a joint presentation. Following the close of 
registration, we will determine the amount of time allotted to each 
presenter and the approximate time each presentation is to begin and 
will select and notify participants by January 21, 2020. All requests 
to make oral presentations must be received by January 17, 2020, 11:59 
p.m. Eastern time. Typically, presentations are between 3 and 5 
minutes. If selected for a formal oral presentation (with slides), each 
presenter must submit an electronic copy of their presentation 
(PowerPoint or PDF) to [email protected] on or before January 28, 
2020. Those who are not giving electronic presentations are encouraged 
to submit a single slide (PowerPoint or PDF) with their name, 
affiliation, and topic. No commercial or promotional material will be 
permitted to be presented or distributed at the public meeting. Persons 
notified that they will be presenters are encouraged to arrive early 
and check in at the onsite registration table to confirm their 
designated presentation times. Actual presentation times may vary based 
on how the meeting progresses in real time. An agenda for the public 
meeting and any other background materials will be made available at 
least 5 days before the meeting at https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-news-events/meetings-conferences-workshops-cosmetics. Those 
without internet or email access can register and/or request to 
participate by contacting Denise Hodge (see FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT) no later than January 17, 2020.
    Transcripts: A transcript of the public meeting will be made 
available as soon as feasible. It will be accessible at 
www.regulations.gov and https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-news-events/meetings-conferences-workshops-cosmetics. It may be viewed at 
the Dockets Management Staff (see ADDRESSES). A transcript will also be 
made available in either hardcopy or on CD-ROM, in response to a 
Freedom of Information Act request. A Freedom of Information Act 
request may be submitted by visiting https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/foi/foirequest/requestform.cfm or by submitting an email 
request to [email protected].

IV. Issues for Consideration and Request for Information

    We encourage public comments and presentations at the public 
meeting. In submitting information to the docket, please provide 
available references for the information.

A. Testing Methodologies and Criteria

    As previously discussed, laboratories may reach different 
conclusions as to whether asbestos and other potentially harmful EMPs 
are present when testing consumer products. We are seeking scientific 
information on the following topics related to testing methodologies 
and criteria that can be applied to characterize and measure asbestos 
and other potentially harmful EMPs present as contaminants in talc and 
cosmetic products manufactured using talc as an ingredient. We invite 
comments on the following:
    1. The sensitivity of PLM as a test method, including whether the 
test method can lead to a false negative result for asbestos particles.
    2. The sensitivity of TEM as a test method, including the ability 
of the test method to identify asbestos particles in comparison to PLM.
    3. Criteria for identification of the specified asbestos minerals, 
noting that different minerals with the same chemical composition can 
exist in samples.

B. Research Needs To Promote the Reliability of Analytical Methods

    The IWGACP identified the following as areas for directing efforts 
to promote reliability of the analytical methods for asbestos and other 
EMPs of health concern in talc and talc-containing consumer products. 
We invite such information to be presented during the public comment 
section of the meeting:
    1. Validation of analytical methods (XRD, PLM, TEM) specific to 
talc and cosmetic products containing talc that minimize false positive 
and false negative results.
    2. Research and validation of methods of sampling that maximize 
sample representativeness and minimize error and false positives and 
false negatives.
    3. Research on methods for sample preparation, in particular 
treatment (e.g., ``concentration methods'') that improves sensitivity 
while leaving covered minerals unchanged with respect to identity and 
dimensions.
    4. Development of talc-specific reference standards with known 
concentrations of specific EMPs that can be used to assess laboratory 
and analyst proficiency, increase inter-laboratory concurrence in 
method validation, minimize reporting errors, and potentially provide 
for improved reliability of quantitative analysis.

C. IWGACP's Preliminary Recommendations

    We invite comments related to the following preliminary 
recommendations from the IWGACP:
    1. Adoption of the term EMP as ``any mineral particle with a 
minimum aspect ratio of 3:1'', consistent with how this term is defined 
in NIOSH Bulletin 62 (Ref. 5).

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    2. Testing laboratories should report all EMPs having length >=0.5 
micrometers (500 nanometers (nm)).
    3. Test methods should specify reportable EMPs identified as 
amphibole or chrysotile particles as covered minerals.
    4. Test methods should include the counting and reporting of 
covered EMPs as a function of sample mass. In counting, guidelines such 
as ISO 10312, ``Ambient air--Determination of asbestos fibres--Direct 
transfer transmission electronic microscopy method'' (Ref. 6), classify 
primary and secondary structures. Individual fibers in secondary 
structures can be counted recording the dimensions of each fiber.
    5. Use of TEM at nominally 20,000 x magnification, in addition to 
PLM, to resolve the issues of sensitivity that cause reporting of false 
negatives for covered EMPs. Use of TEM with energy dispersive x ray 
spectroscopy and selected area electron diffraction analyses may 
reliably detect and identify chrysotile and asbestiform and non-
asbestiform amphibole minerals, including EMPs whose narrowest width is 
<200 nm. Scanning electron microscopy might be useful as a 
complementary method, but has significant shortcomings for 
identification of chrysotile and visualization of the narrowest 
particles in the population that can only be overcome by using TEM.
    6. ``Mass percent'', a unit that is frequently used to express 
content of asbestos in commercial bulk materials, is not appropriate 
for measurement of EMPs in talc and consumer products containing talc 
because mass percent does not correlate with the number of fibers, and 
one large fiber could dominate the mass percent value.

V. References

    The following references marked with an asterisk (*) are on display 
at the Dockets Management Staff (see ADDRESSES) and are available for 
viewing by interested persons between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through 
Friday; they also are available electronically at https://www.regulations.gov. References without asterisks are not on public 
display at https://www.regulations.gov because they have copyright 
restriction. Some may be available at the website address, if listed. 
References without asterisks are available for viewing only at the 
Dockets Management Staff. FDA has verified the website addresses, as of 
the date this document publishes in the Federal Register, but websites 
are subject to change over time.

1. The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, Inc. (CTFA) 
1990. Method, J 4-1, ``Asbestiform Amphibole Minerals in Cosmetic 
Talc'' in Compendium of Cosmetic Ingredient Composition: 
Specifications Personal Care Products Council, Washington DC (1976) 
(revised in 1990). See http://www.asbestosandtalc.com/EMP%20Detection%20Limits%20ASTM/PCPC000960.pdf.
2. USP, Revision Bulletin, ``Talc,'' dated August 1, 2011, at page 
2. See https://www.usp.org/sites/default/files/usp/document/harmonization/excipients/m80360talc.pdf.
*3. Woodcock, J. (2010). Letter to Roger L. Williams, CEO of USP 
(October 12, 2010). See https://www.usp.org/sites/default/files/usp/document/get-involved/monograph-modernization/2010-10-12-letter-from-dr-janet-woodcock.pdf.
4. Block L.H., D. Beckers, J. Ferret, G.P. Meeker, et al. (2014). 
``Stimuli to the Revision Process, Modernization of Asbestos Testing 
in USP Talc,'' USP-PF 40(4).
*5. NIOSH 2011. ``Asbestos Fibers and Other Elongate Mineral 
Particles: State of the Science and Roadmap for Research,'' Current 
Intelligence Bulletin 62. Department of Health and Human Services. 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Institute for 
Occupational Safety and Health. Publication No. 2011-159 (March 
2011). https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2011-159/pdfs/2011-159.pdf.
6. International Organization for Standardization, ``ISO 
10312:2019(en) Ambient air--Determination of asbestos fibres--Direct 
transfer transmission electron microscopy method.'' See https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:10312:ed-2:v1:en.

    Dated: January 7, 2020.
Lowell J. Schiller,
Principal Associate Commissioner for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2020-00259 Filed 1-9-20; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4164-01-P