The first study measuring toxic metals in tampons shows arsenic and lead, among other contaminants

Tampons from various brands that potentially millions of people use every month may contain toxic metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium, according to a new study led by a UC Berkeley researcher. The work is published in the news Environment International.

Tampons are of particular concern as a potential source of exposure to chemicals, including metals, because the skin of the vagina has a greater potential for chemical absorption than skin elsewhere on the body. Furthermore, the products are used monthly by a large percentage of the population – 50-80% of those who menstruate use tampons – for several hours at a time.

“Despite this high potential for public health concerns, very little research has been done on measuring chemicals in tampons,” said lead author Jenni A. Shearston, a postdoctoral researcher at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and the Department of Environmental Science from UC Berkeley. Policy, & Management.

“To our knowledge, this is the first paper to measure metals in tampons. Worryingly, we found concentrations of all the metals we tested for, including toxic metals such as arsenic and lead.”

Metals have been found to increase the risk of dementia, infertility, diabetes and cancer. They can damage the liver, kidneys and brain, as well as the cardiovascular, nervous and endocrine systems. In addition, metals can harm maternal health and fetal development.

“Although toxic metals are ubiquitous and we are exposed to low levels at any time, our research clearly shows that metals are also present in menstrual products, and that women may be at greater risk of exposure to these products,” said study author Kathrin Schilling , assistant professor at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Researchers evaluated the levels of 16 metals (arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, strontium, vanadium and zinc) in 30 tampons from 14 different brands.

The metal concentrations varied depending on where the tampons were purchased (US vs. EU/UK), organic vs. non-organic, and store vs. brand name. However, they found that metals were present in all types of tampons; no category had consistently lower concentrations of all or most metals. Lead concentrations were higher in non-organic tampons, but arsenic was higher in organic tampons.

Metals can get into tampons in a number of ways: the cotton material may have absorbed the metals from water, air, or soil, through a nearby contaminant (for example, if a cotton field was near a lead smelter), or some could have been deliberately added during production as part of a pigment, whitening agent, antibacterial agent or other process in the factory that produces the products.

“I really hope that manufacturers are required to test their products for metals, especially toxic metals,” says Shearston. “It would be exciting to see the public calling for this, or asking for better labeling on tampons and other menstrual products.”

At this time, it is unclear whether the metals detected in this study contribute to any negative health effects. Future research will test how much of these metals can leach from the tampons and be absorbed by the body, and will also measure the presence of other chemicals in tampons.