Ovarian cancer victims who used Johnson & Johnson talc powder include Rio Tinto Minerals in new lawsuit

Johnson's Baby Powder — A bottle of Johnson and Johnson Baby Powder is seen in a photo illustration taken in New York, February 24, 2016. Reuters/Mike Segar

For supplying Johnson & Johnson the talc that ovarian cancer victims blame for their disease, Rio Tinto Minerals was included in a new lawsuit filed against the multinational. The latest lawsuit against the US healthcare giant was filed in Louisiana by four cancer patients and the husband of a woman who died of ovarian cancer.

Sydney Morning Herald reports the five women were diagnosed with ovarian cancer between 2011 and 2015 and were regular users of Johnson Baby Powder and Shower to Shower which they applied on their perineum for feminine hygiene purposes. The latest lawsuit adds to the more than 1,000 cases filed against Johnson & Johnson.

Two women won damages totaling US$172 million (A$226.6 million) in two separate cases filed in Missouri. A Missouri state jury award US$72 million (A$1000 million) to the family of Jacqueline Fox from Birmingham, Alabama in late February. In May, a Missouri court awarded US$55 million (A$71.6 million) to Gloria Ristesund of South Dakota.

In all the previous cases, only Johnson & Johnson was sued. Valeant Pharmaceuticals, the owner now of Shower to Shower, was excluded in the lawsuits. This is the first time that Rio Tinto Minerals has been included in a lawsuit over the ovarian cancer allegedly caused by talc.

Also included in the lawsuit is Luzenac America, subsidiary of Rio Tinto Minerals, which the complaints state mined the talc at issue in the case used to manufacture Johnson’s Baby Power and Shower to Shower. The lawsuit says the three companies “failed to inform its customers and end users of its products of a known catastrophic health hazard associated with the use of its products.”

They claim the defendants were aware of almost 40 years of independent scientific studies which linked the use of their products to higher risk of ovarian cancer when the talc was applied in the perineal area, reports 9News. A spokeswoman for Johnson & Johnson insists “multiple scientific and regulatory reviews have determined that talc is safe for use in cosmetic products and the labelling on Johnson’s Baby Powder is appropriate.”

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