Occurrence and effects of nanosized anatase titanium dioxide in consumer products

The survey maps the occurrence and effects of nanosized  anatase-titandioxide in a number of selected products on the Danish market. Based on available knowledge an attempt has been made to assess if possible risks can be associated with their use.   The crystalline anatase form of titaniumdioxide occurs in many products used as a pigment (in e.g. paint, paper, plastic, cosmetics a.s.f.)  or as an UV filter (e.g. in plastic, sunscreens and various coatings), but also in less widespread products where the photocatalytic properties prevalent in the anatase form are made use of (e.g. in self-celaning paints and construction materials) . The occurrence of the anatase form in sunscreens was difficult to assess precisely as primarily Danish producers responded. In order to achieve the Nordic Ecolabel "Svanen", most of these avoid nano-materials, which are banned in this context. Insufficient data made it impossible to assess precisely if the products could represent a risk to human health. Regarding sunscreens, it is assessed that an uacceptable risk is not likely even in a summer scenario, where high amounts of sunscreen are used. Also, spray-application of self-cleaning paint was not assessed as presenting a risk based on available data.