Makeup and cancer, and titanium dioxide in food.

British women are suing leading US cosmetics companies for causing mesothelioma due to the use of asbestos-based talc in their make-up. Mesothelioma is an incurable cancer affecting the lining of the lungs, heart, or stomach. Talc, a common ingredient in cosmetics, is mined from underground clay deposits and can often contain veins of asbestos.

In Taranto, Italy, where many have died from cancer and pollution, children play on the polluted land near a steel mill. Italian-born Australian photographer Lisa Sorgini documents their lives and those of their parents in a project created in collaboration with residents. This includes a series of portraits of children and mothers fighting daily to protect their children’s health.

Concerns have been raised by scientists about the widespread use of titanium dioxide (TiO2) in American food. This ingredient is found in sunscreen and is used as a colorant in frozen pizza, bakery products, cheeses, salad dressings, and children’s sweets. Due to its non-flammable and insoluble properties, titanium dioxide is a synthetically produced substance present not only in cosmetics but also in paints, plastics, paper, and wallpaper. It is banned in the European Union.