Deadly Powder

Dusted liberally over baby's bottom to prevent diaper rash, talcum powder is considered by most parents to be safe. That assumption is not necessarily true. There have been scattered incidents in the U.S. of severe skin rashes and even poisoning from powder containing dangerous ingredients. Last year doctors warned that a high asbestos content in talc could lead to lung cancer. French medical authorities in the 1950s blamed a talc accidentally laced with arsenic for killing 69 infants. Last week the French government indicted a talcum powder for the recent deaths of 28 babies. The suspected ingredient: hexachlorophene, an antibacterial agent that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has found to cause neurological damage in laboratory animals.

This year's hazard was first discovered by a doctor in Charleville-Mezieres, in France's Ardennes region. Dr. Jean-Francois Elchardus became alarmed at the sudden and seemingly inexplicable deaths of eight of 15 infants he had treated last spring for diarrhea and large swellings on the buttocks, to which powder had been applied. When he sent several baby products to a laboratory for analysis, tests showed that one of them, a powder called Bebe (baby), was rich in hexachlorophene. The chemical made up 6% of Bebe. (U.S.-manufactured cleansers contain no more than 3% hexachlorophene.)

Health officials, though unsure exactly what role the powder played in the Ardennes deaths and those reported elsewhere in France, confiscated supplies of the suspect preparation. They are also considering legal action against the manufacturer. The crackdown will protect infants from bad batches of Bebe, but offers no protection against harmful additives in other preparations. Like most countries, France has no laws controlling the contents of cosmetics and hygiene products.

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