What Products Contain Asbestos?

What a lot of people don’t realize today is that asbestos is still being put into products, and part of that is due to what we know as talc. Talcum powder is something that is often mined actually geographically, usually with asbestos, and we see the placement of talc in products such as personal hygiene products, also in cosmetic products for ladies and for example, with personal hygiene products, we see men using powders, personal powders, scented powders, before and after the gym to prevent chafing or before and after a shower, and one of the top ingredients actually in that powder is talc, which is contaminated with this asbestos. For ladies, we see cosmetic products like pressed powders such as eye shadow, highlight, blush, foundation, setting powder, you name it. These powders contain one of the number one ingredients is talc, which again is contaminated with asbestos, and you’re inhaling these fibers each time you’re putting it on your face. And where the Lanier Law Firm really is taking the initiative to raise awareness and combat talc exposure. We are currently litigating talc cases against makeup manufacturers and personal hygiene powder manufacturers. Another type of talc that I want to talk about that is a fairly new innovation in the legal world is what we call talc pleurodesis. The types of exposures Abby was just talking about involve the inhalation of asbestos fibers from the application of makeup products. A talc pleurodesis is a medical procedure in which if a person has had a collapsed lung, one of the things they do to help treat that collapsed lung is what’s called a pleurodesis, which is, in layman’s terms, a way to stop the undesirable intake or outtake of air from the lung. Pleurodesis uses a material involved that has talc, and the Lanier Law Firm, we just tried the very first talc pleurodesis case in the United States that’s ever been tried. We tried it in Boston. We had a 62-year-old client who had had a lung collapse in the past, had a pleurodesis, the talc contained asbestos, and the jury found the manufacturer of the talc liable and awarded $39 million dollars. We have another case right now since that time, a lady in Alabama, a young lady in her forties, who has had a talc pleurodesis in the past and now has mesothelioma. So that’s another way that talc is entering into the realm, and like I said, this case we tried just a few months ago was the first case in the country tried.