>
Spotlight October 2022: The titanium dioxide debate – why the current ECHA and EFSA hazard classification should be questioned
Due to various reports and scientific studies, titanium dioxide (TiO2)was also banned in Europe this year (2022) for use as a food additive with the indication that it could possibly be carcinogenic to humans. Although no case of tumour induction in humans has been reported since the use of this material in micro but also nano size in many products (included in paints as a white pigment for more than 80 years and permitted in foodstuffs in Europe since 2008) the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) have concluded that the evidence would be sufficient to apply a new classification.
However, the British Committee on Mutagenicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment (COC) and Health Canada disagree and continue to classify TiO2 as harmless because they consider the evidence from the submitted reports to be inconclusive and inapplicable.
The two here presented recent publications now comment on this new classification in Europe and come to the conclusion that this classification must be reconsidered, as there is no evidence for such a direct genotoxic effect of TiO2 in consumer products, would thus follow the British and Canadian example. The example of TiO2 makes it clear how important it is in the future to carry out toxicological tests exactly according to protocol and thus produce high-quality and comprehensible “FAIR” results (cf. Spotlights September 2022 and August 2021).
Original publications:
- Driscoll, K.E. (2022). Review of Lung Particle Overload, Rat Lung Cancer, and the Conclusions of the Edinburgh Expert Panel-It’s Time to Revisit Cancer Hazard Classifications for Titanium Dioxide and Carbon Black. Front Public Health 10, 907318
- Kirkland, D., Aardema, M.J., Battersby, R.V., Beevers, C., Burnett, K., Burzlaff, A., Czich, A., Donner, E. M., Fowler, P., Johnston, H.J., Krug, H.F., Pfuhler, S., Stankowski, L.F. (2022). A weight of evidence review of the genotoxicity of titanium dioxide (TiO₂). Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology, in press, journal pre-proof
Weitere Spotlights
Spotlight October 2023: Improved hydrogen production through novel catalyst made of three metals
Hydrogen is one of the important energy carriers of the future when it comes to climate-relevant energy supply. For example, surplus electricity from wind turbines or solar plants can be converted into hydrogen, allowing the otherwise unused energy to be stored for longer periods. This hydrogen can be used to power trucks and buses for […]
Read moreSpotlight December 2020: Rethinking Nanosafety – Part II
In December we would like to draw attention to the special issue: Rethinking Nanosafety – Part II in small. In the July Spotlight we already presented Part I. This special issue “Rethinking Nanosafety – Part II” also features research papers by renowned scientists in the field of nanosafety research. The first part of this special […]
Read moreSpotlight October 2020: Nanosafety – Topic of the Future
Research on nanosafety is a driver of innovation as the spotlight in July has demonstrated. But furthermore, this research field is built on routine as well if researchers look for the “needle in the haystack”. In many areas the safety research initiates the development of new methods, e.g. for the determination of nanoparticles within exposed organisms via […]
Read moreSpotlight December 2022: Fighting tumors with micro robots
When we, the DaNa team as operators of the website nanopartikel.info, write about nanobots, i.e. nanometre-sized machines, we point out that these machines belong to science fiction, may even remain a utopia – i.e. never realisable. On the significantly larger micro-scale, however, small machines are conceivable that could help in the therapy of diseases, e.g. […]
Read more