Titanium substances and your health
Learn about titanium substances and if they're safe.
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About titanium substances
Titanium is a naturally occurring metal that is most often found in our environment in the form of titanium oxides, such as titanium dioxide. Titanium can be combined with other compounds to make substances, such as:
- titanium dioxide
- titanium trichloride
- titanium tetrachloride
These substances have many uses, including as pigments to add colour. They may be found in a range of products available to consumers, such as:
- cleaning products
- toys, arts and crafts
- pest control products
- lubricants and greases
- plastics and rubber products
- home maintenance products
- paper, inks and printing supplies
- self-care products, including cosmetics, natural health products and non-prescription drugs
Some titanium substances, like titanium dioxide, may also be added to foods.
We're exposed to these substances when we use or consume products that contain them. We're also exposed to small amounts of them in:
- soil
- food
- house dust
- drinking water
- indoor and outdoor air
This is because many chemicals, including titanium substances, make their way into our environments from different sources, including from industrial processes and the products we use and dispose of.
Safety of titanium substances
Under Canada's Chemicals Management Plan, we review and manage the potential risks that chemicals can pose to people in Canada and the environment. We've recently completed a chemical risk assessment for certain titanium substances.
This assessment didn't include nanoparticles or nanomaterials containing titanium. We've committed to addressing nanoscale forms of substances, including nanoscale titanium dioxide, and their potential health effects in a separate assessment.
Our assessment of certain titanium substances confirmed that titanium substances, including titanium dioxide used in foods and self-care products, are not harmful to our health at current levels of exposure.
What we're doing
We continue to monitor emerging evidence related to the safety of food uses of titanium dioxide.
For more information
- Nanomaterials
- Healthy home guide
- Chemical Risk Assessments
- Measuring your exposure to chemicals
- Canada's system for addressing chemicals
- Overview of the Chemicals Management Plan
- Titanium dioxide (TiO2) as a food additive: Current science report
- Framework for the risk assessment of manufactured nanomaterials