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Written question asked by Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party) on Tuesday, 2 December 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 4 December 2025. It was answered by Zubir Ahmed (Labour) on Monday, 8 December 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

NHS: Hazardous Substances

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department plans make an assessment of the use of (a) fibrous forms of talc, (b) tremolite and (c) actinolite in products used by the NHS.

Answer

From a medicines perspective, additives in medicines, termed excipients, are required to comply with the standards laid down in pharmacopeial monographs and can only be included in medicinal products at levels that are considered to be safe.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is aware of general concerns in relation to the presence of asbestos in talcum powder. However, pharmaceutical grade talc has strict controls on the presence of asbestos. The British Pharmacopeia monograph for Purified Talc states that “Talc derived from deposits that are known to contain associated asbestos is not suitable for pharmaceutical use”. Furthermore, testing is required to confirm the absence of asbestos.

NHS Supply Chain procurement activities require suppliers to comply with United Kingdom regulatory requirements such as the United Kingdom Accreditation Service or international equivalent accreditation for International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 9001 and ISO 13485, to ensure that products procured under NHS Supply Chain frameworks and used within the National Health Service in England are subject to rigorous safety assessments.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
96316
Session
2024-26
Subjects
Hazardous substances NHS
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk