titanium dioxide r5566

On November 23, 2022, the General Court of the European Union reversed the conclusion that titanium dioxide was carcinogenic and released a statement (1,2):

First, the Commission made a manifest error in its assessment of the reliability and acceptability of the study on which the classification was based and, second, it infringed the criterion according to which that classification can relate only to a substance that has the intrinsic property to cause cancer.
 
As part of our mission at CRIS we base our safety assessments on the currently available scientific evidence and consider many variables (e.g., study quality, journal of publication, etc.), even if it goes against previous conclusions. Evidence-informed decisions making is critical to ensure that the laws and regulations put into place are for the benefit of the population.
 
The EU General Court maintains that the scientific evidence presented wasn’t the complete picture for the ingredient, “in the present case, the requirement to base the classification of a carcinogenic substance on reliable and acceptable studies was not satisfied.

...

The synergy between talc and titanium dioxide is particularly evident in the manufacturing of plastics. When these two minerals are added to plastic formulations, they can improve the strength, impact resistance, and heat stability of the final product. This is because talc acts as a filler, filling the spaces between polymer molecules, while titanium dioxide enhances the polymer's molecular structure, making it more resistant to external stresses.

...