Judgment annulling the classification of titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a carcinogenic substance by inhalation
The EU Court of Justice (CJEU) has handed down a judgment annulling the classification of titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a carcinogenic substance by inhalation (see CJEU press release). “This annulment is particularly problematic, insofar as it allows manufacturers to no longer alert workers when powders contain nanometric TiO₂, even though the CJEU has not ruled out the possibility that this poses a hazard”, emphasises Mathilde Detcheverry of France’s AVICENN association (see press release). The CFDT, which is one of the few trade unions to have reacted, deplores “this rescinding of the right to information for workers who, from now on, will no longer alerted in cases where micro- and nanometric particles are present in TiO2 powders” (see CFDT press release). The French authorities, which submitted the original application for TiO2 to be classified as a carcinogenic substance by inhalation, have lodged an appeal against the Court’s judgment (see government press release).
