As pointed out in Tuesday’s post (September 18, 2018), Praedicat and Allianz recently published facts and assessments on a “toxic” trio associated with some cosmetics. This is an innovative effort, and one that deserves careful consideration. One of the “toxic trio” substances is toluene. The report includes the following data, and Praedicat’s assessment of where the science likely will go. The report includes the following:
“Toluene is … a solvent commonly found in paints, inks, adhesives, paint thinner, stain removers, fragrances, hand and nail care products, and a wide variety of personal care products. The value of the toluene market was $16.6bn in 2016 and significant growth is projected over the coming years. The wide-ranging use of toluene as a solvent in the personal care product applications listed above presents two potential exposure routes: dermal and inhalation.
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With exposure to toluene common from solvent-containing products, including personal care products, the potential for bodily injury is important to understand. Scientists have studied toluene fairly extensively, publishing 180 studies investigating its ability to cause bodily injury. As before, in the adjacent table we summarizes the consensus and projected evolution of the peer-reviewed scientific literature using Praedicat’s models.”
The most innovative part of Praedicat’s work is assessing the current state of the science as to disease causation, and where it will go. From the 180 studies (and more factors), Praedicat assessed the science as follows:
