One of the most common worries about titanium dioxide is that it could be a cancer-causing agent. The link between cancer and titanium dioxide traces back to a 1985 study where rats were exposed to high levels of titanium dioxide for two years, causing lung cancer. However, not all experts are convinced by this study.

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Other research suggests that E171 could cause harm; however, those research processes did not consider how people are typically exposed to E171. Research that adds E171 to drinking water, utilizes direct injections, or gives research animals E171 through a feeding apparatus is not replicating typical human exposure. 

While lithopone and anatase titanium white gained traction between the 1920s and 1950s, by the advent of the First World War, rutile titanium white had started to overshadow them. Their significance in the artist’s palette has since dwindled, and their use as an artist’s pigment is currently nearly obsolete.

White powder