1. Wide use of titanium dioxide

Titanium dioxide is generally listed as one kind of safe white pigment with no known adverse effects, so it is extensively applied in all fields, such as painting, printing ink, plastics, rubber, paper industry, chemical fiber, art paints and daily cosmetics.

2. Titanium dioxide safety information

Following titanium dioxide safety information are coming from Material Safety Data Sheet information provided by Shanghai Titanos Industry Co., Ltd, one leading supplier of titanium dioxide in China. If skin contact, you'd better undress the clothes and wash with plenty flowing water and then get medical attention if irritation develops; If eye contact, you are advised to check for and remove any contact lenses. And in case of contact, immediately flush eyes with plenty of water for at least 15minutes, and then get medical attention if irritation occurs; If inhalation, you had better remove to fresh air, and be given artificial respiration if not breathing. And give oxygen if breathing is difficult; If ingestion, please do not induce vomiting unless directed to do so by medical personnel, and never give anything by mouth to an unconscious person. And if large quantities of this material are swallowed, call a physician immediately.

In case of below possible incidents, you are suggested to do a listing of precautions to avoid any harm to our health. Firstly, wear suitable protective clothing, and remember not to breathe dust. If you feel unwell, seek medical attention and show the label when possible. Secondly, keep away from incompatibles such as acids. When comes to its safety for all kinds of chemicals, one very important thing is the storage. You should keep container tightly closed in a cool, well-ventilated area.

3. Some controversial voices on titanium dioxide safety

Although titanium dioxide has wide application in various fields, there is some controversial saying about the side effects of titanium dioxide. The titanium dioxide danger is being discussed worldwide, so we need to ask today “ is titanium dioxide dangerous?” Recently, titanium dioxide has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as an IARC Group 2B carcinogen ''possibly carcinogen to humans''. Some researches experimented on rats showed that high concentrations of pigment-grade (powdered) and ultrafine titanium dioxide dust caused respiratory tract cancer in rats exposed by inhalation and intratracheal instillation. And according to this, if titanium dioxide production workers are exposed to high dust concentrations when in packing, and milling and other similar jobs without sufficient dust control measures, they may also be in the danger of some very harmful results. Is titanium dioxide safe? Till now, there is no strong and direct association between exposure to titanium dioxide and dangers of causing cancer. The controversy over the titanium dioxide safety still exists.

4. Some notes on titanium dioxide safety

1). As to the possible dangers of titanium dioxide, workers should be given much more safety information of titanium dioxide, so they could concern more about their health and then avoid any wrong working procedures.
2). Employers should check if the exposure to titanium dioxide dust is in proper range, and then try to reduce any possible dangers.
3). Suppliers of titanium dioxide are suggested to update their MSDS information and the products label information.