A meeting abstract reports bulk X-ray fluorescence on five replicate samples, each analyzed ten times, from one hospital-designated talcum baby powder bottled in 1985. Nickel is given as approximately 2000 ppm and chromium as approximately 500 ppm. Iron is described as a few weight percent. Scanning electron microscopy found chromite or chromium-bearing magnetite crystals a few micrometers across. Transmission electron microscopy placed nickel and iron in platy talc particles and in talc fibers. The abstract treats the bulk chemistry as consistent with an ophiolitic or ultramafic talc and with one Vermont mine sample from the early 1990s. This is an abstract, not a full paper, and the concentrations are approximate.
Key numbers
| Analyte | Matrix | Value | Unit | Statistic | N | Where |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ni | talcum baby powder, hospital-designated, bottled 1985 | 2000 | ppm | approximate | 5 replicates x 10 XRF analyses | abstract body p.1 |
| Cr | talcum baby powder, hospital-designated, bottled 1985 | 500 | ppm | approximate | 5 replicates x 10 XRF analyses | abstract body p.1 |
Methods (brief)
Bulk XRF on 5 replicates analyzed 10 times. SEM and TEM-EDS for mineral hosts. No digestion method, calibration, or detection limit is printed.
Detection and reporting: Not stated
Basis: Bulk powder, approximate concentrations. Not a certified assay.
Evidence fitness
This source can support: approximate bulk Ni and Cr in one 1985 hospital-designated talcum baby powder; mineral-host observations for Cr and Ni.
It cannot support: a multi-bottle survey; Cr(VI) versus total Cr; a certification limit; inhalation dose.
Limitations
One bottle. Approximate concentrations. No table. Chromium is not speciated. The mine name in the abstract is a geological source hypothesis, not a product brand, and is kept as the authors’ attribution.
Related evidence
Update history
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