Advertisement

German firm sold cheap boob silicone

Author thumbnail
German firm sold cheap boob silicone
Photo: DPA

The industrial silicone used by disgraced French breast implant firm Poly Implant Prothese (PIP) came from a German distributor, it emerged Monday. The silicone is generally used as a construction sealant.

Advertisement

“We delivered the product to PIP and we are in contact with the French health authorities,” confirmed a spokesman for Brenntag, an industrial chemical distributor based in the Ruhr region of western Germany, to the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

But the unnamed spokesman refused to discuss Brenntag’s business deals with PIP in any more detail.

The material is known as Baysilone and has many different uses, including as a sealant in the construction industry.

PIP faces thousands of lawsuits in France for implanting hundreds of thousands of women worldwide with industrial silicone, rather than more expensive medically-approved material. The cheaper implants allegedly tear more easily, and the leaked substance can cause a number of serious health problems.

Health authorities in Germany, France, Britain and Brazil have called on women treated in the PIP clinic to seek medical advice.

Despite the health warnings, PIP founder Jean-Claude Mas has defended the use of cheaper silicone and plans to continue producing them.

Brenntag, which describes itself as “the world’s leading chemical distribution company,” says the Baysilone is manufactured by US firm Momentive Performance Materials.

The US company emerged from GE Bayer Silicones, a joint company formed in 1998 by German chemical giant Bayer and US industrial company GE. Bayer sold its stake in GE in 2006.

The Local/bk

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also