The record
At a December 10, 2019 congressional hearing, a testifying scientist stated that laboratories used by the talc industry and by FDA's contract laboratory had detection limits of approximately 10 million to 14 million asbestos fibers per gram, and that asbestos can be present at millions of fibers per gram even when total asbestos by weight is under 0.01 percent.
Claim scope
That this quantitative criticism — including of FDA's own contract laboratory — is in the congressional record. The witness was Dr. William Longo, Materials Analytical Services, LLC. He also testified: 'Millions and millions of asbestos fibers can be present in a single gram of talc, even if the total asbestos by weight is less than 0.01 percent,' and that 'The methods used in the past and today by the industry are not sensitive enough to detect trace levels of asbestos.' At the same hearing, Rep. Tlaib quoted FDA's own request-for-quote solicitation for asbestos testing: 'it is now apparent that detection of asbestos in cosmetics demands using the most sensitive asbestos testing methods available.'
What this source does not establish
THIS IS WITNESS TESTIMONY, NOT A CONGRESSIONAL OR AGENCY FINDING. Congress made no finding adopting it. Dr. Longo is a frequent expert witness for plaintiffs in talc litigation; the page must attribute the statement to him by name and role, not present it as an established fact or as FDA's position. It does NOT establish FDA's contract-laboratory detection limit as a matter of record — compare FDA's own 2024 figure of one fiber per 0.1 micrograms (~10^7 fibers/gram), which is the same order of magnitude as the 10-14 million figure Longo criticizes.
Limitations
Attribute by name. The printed witness list names Alex Gorsky (CEO, J&J) for panel one, but Gorsky DECLINED to appear — panel one was an empty chair (see tev-jnj-baby-powder-56). Panel two as heard: Dr. William Longo (Materials Analytical Services), Dr. Jacqueline Moline (Feinstein Institutes, Northwell Health), Mr. David Etheridge (patient), and Dr. Rod Metcalf (geologist, University of Nevada-Las Vegas). Adversarial forum — witnesses were selected by the majority and minority.
Source
Gov Report — CHRG-116hhrg38735, 'Examining Carcinogens in Talc and the Best Methods for Asbestos Detection', Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, Committee on Oversight and Reform, House of Representatives, 116th Congress, December 10, 2019, Serial No. 116-76