Almugren, K. S. and Sani, S. F. Abdul and Azim, M. K. Muhamad and Ismail, N. N. and Khandaker, Mayeen Uddin and Alsufyani, Sultan J. and Alkallas, F. H. and Almajid, Hadeel F. and Bradley, D. A. and Naseer, K. A. (2023) The presence of NORMs and toxic heavy metals in talcum baby powder. Journal of Radiation Research and Applied Sciences, 16 (4). ISSN 1687-8507, DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrras.2023.100660.
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Baby talcum powder is one of the popular baby care products used for keeping the baby's skin dry and preventing diaper rash. In the past few years, there has been a growing concern on the presence of toxic heavy metals within the baby talcum powder due to its potential threat to human health and environmental effects. However, its natural radioactivity content is much less considered where it may pose similar health risks to the consumers. The present study examines the radioactivity and heavy metals concentration towards the commonly used baby powders in Malaysia, including Pureen, Johnson's, Carrie Junior and Zwitsal, utilizing the High Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray spectrometry and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Individual health risk assessment has been conducted through the estimation of absorbed dose rate due to the exposure of ionizing radiation from the three long-lived primordial radionuclides of 22oa, 228Ra and 40K through the usage of baby powders. The assessment revealed that an individual might be exposed to an average radiation dose rate of 0.518 pGy h-1, albeit lower than the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) reference exposure dose limit of 59 nGy h-1 for terrestrial radionuclides. In regards to heavy metals toxicity, all baby powders are within the permissible limits of heavy metals concentration recommended by the National Pharmaceuticals Regulatory Agency (NPRA), ASEAN Cosmetic Scientific Body (ACSB) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) except for Ni where its concentrations were slightly above the permissible value of 0.6 ppm outlined by FDA. Prolonged use of baby powders contaminated with such heavy metal may pose a significant risk to human health and the environment due to its toxic metal loading. These results emphasize the need for periodic monitoring and quality control of baby powders to ensure they meet safety standards and minimize potential risks to human health and the environment.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Funders: | Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University (PNURSP2023R10) |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Baby talcum powder; Naturally occurring radioactive materials; Radioactivity concentration; Heavy metals toxicity |
| Subjects: | Q Science > Q Science (General) Q Science > QC Physics |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Science > Department of Physics |
| Depositing User: | Ms. Juhaida Abd Rahim |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Aug 2025 07:07 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Aug 2025 07:07 |
| URI: | http://eprints.um.edu.my/id/eprint/50682 |
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