Asbestos found in makeup at Justice tween retail store, report says

WTVD worked with Scientific Analytical Institute in Greensboro, North Carolina, and Sean Fitzgerald, the institute’s director of research and analytical services, said that there were tremolite asbestos fibers found in the makeup.

“Fibers like this get into your breathing zone, and when you inhale, these fibers can get into the lung and go to the very bottom of the lung and that is exactly where you have the greatest likelihood of asbestos to cause disease,” Fitzgerald said. “Children should not be allowed to breathe it. If a 10-year-old inhaled this fiber today, when he's 50 years old, it's still there.”

According to Fitzgerald, the talc in the makeup was contaminated with asbestos.

Talc is a mineral that is a common ingredient in makeup. Fitzgerald said it “forms in the earth with other minerals and some of those minerals are asbestos.”

Although both asbestos and talc are naturally occurring, the Food and Drug Administration says that asbestos is a "known carcinogen."

“For this reason, FDA considers it unacceptable for cosmetic talc to be contaminated with asbestos,” the organization’s website said.

According to the National Cancer Institute, it can take 20 years after asbestos exposure for malignant mesothelioma to form.

Teen Vogue reported that the "Just Shine Shimmer Powder" is no longer for sale on the Justice website, but it has not appeared on the site's recalls section. A link to the product on the website contains the title, "do not sell." Justice issued the following statement to WTVD in response to the investigation: