Titanium dioxide is a common ingredient in many products, including personal care items, food, and drugs. Here are some key points about titanium dioxide side effects, ingredients, and materials:
Positive:
- In lotions and creams (dermal exposure), it is not a risk for adverse health effects.
- In food and drugs, titanium dioxide’s properties help to define colors clearly and can prevent products from UV degradation.
- There are no known side effects of oral consumption.
Negative:
- Exposure to titanium dioxide can irritate the eyes, nose, and throat.
- Repeated exposure to titanium dioxide can cause bronchitis to develop with coughing, phlegm, and/or shortness of breath.
- Titanium dioxide may be a carcinogen in humans since it has been shown to cause lung cancer in animals.
- Breathing in titanium dioxide dust has been linked to lung cancer in animal studies.
- Mechanistic toxicological studies show that TiO2 nanoparticles predominantly cause adverse effects via induction of oxidative stress resulting in cell damage.
- Titanium dioxide has been classified by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) as A3 – Confirmed animal carcinogen, and by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as 2B - Possibly carcinogenic to humans.
Ingredients or materials:
- Titanium dioxide is a fine white powder or dust that occurs naturally.
- Titanium dioxide is an insoluble mineral, meaning it cannot dissolve in water.
- Titanium dioxide can form several different shapes, which have different properties.
- Micronized TiO2 (also called “nano” or “nanoparticles”) was introduced in the early 1990s.
- Nanotechnology and micronization both refer to the practice of creating very small particles sizes of a given material.
- Titanium dioxide, or TiO2, will be listed on product labels, but companies are not required to list ingredient size or structure.
