December 1, 2022

Paint and coatings manufacturers have successfully challenged the classification of titanium dioxide as a carcinogenic before the European Court of Justice. On November 23, the European Court of Justice ruled that titanium dioxide in a powder form has been wrongly classified by the EU as carcinogenic and the corresponding regulation of the EU commission has been declared null and void.

In 2019, the EU classified the whitening agent in certain forms as carcinogenic if it is inhaled. This involved powders of at least one per cent Ti02 particles smaller than 0.01 millimeters. While this did not mean that the agent was banned, it did require manufacturers to include a warning label on products containing the pigment. Various manufacturers and associations had filed complaints against this classification.

The European Court announced that the EU Commission committed a manifest error in assessing the reliability of the study on which the classification was based on, noting that such a classification must be based on reliable and recognized tests. In addition, a substance may only be classified as carcinogenic if it actually has the “intrinsic property” of causing cancer.

Ti02 would have to be carcinogenic in itself. However, according to the court, the risk of cancer exists only in conjunction with certain respirable titanium dioxide particles, if they’re present in a certain aggregate state, shape, size or quantity, which is insufficient for a carcinogenic classification.