Tampons bought beneath varied widespread manufacturers could comprise poisonous metals equivalent to arsenic and lead, based on a latest research out of the College of Berkeley in California.
The research, revealed within the newest quantity of Environmental Worldwide, discovered that each one 30 tampons examined from 14 manufacturers — together with natural tampons — contained lead, with some displaying regarding ranges of different poisonous metals like arsenic.
“We selected several different products and tested them for a panel of 16 different metals. And we found concentrations of every single one of the metals we tested. For some of the metals, like lead, which is toxic, we found a presence in every single one of the tampons we tested. So we found a lot of metals,” mentioned lead writer Jenni Shearston, a postdoctoral scholar on the UC Berkeley Faculty of Public Well being.
However regardless of the big potential for public well being concern, she informed World Information, little or no analysis has been carried out to measure chemical substances in tampons.
Menstruators could use greater than 7,400 tampons over their reproductive years, with every tampon being retained within the vagina for a number of hours, the research mentioned. They’re sometimes comprised of cotton, rayon, or a mix of each supplies.
A tampon is separated into its parts, together with the (A) non-woven outer masking, (B) withdrawal string, (C) inside absorbent core, (D) applicator and (E) wrapper.
Environmental Worldwide
In Canada, tampons are regulated as medical gadgets by Well being Canada. The well being regulator’s web site states it “makes sure that the tampons sold in Canada are safe, effective, and of high quality based on requirements for licensing, quality manufacture, and post-market surveillance.”
The research raises considerations that these present rules will not be sufficient.
Tampons are of specific concern as a possible supply of publicity to chemical substances, together with metals, as a result of the pores and skin of the vagina has a better potential for chemical absorption than pores and skin elsewhere on the physique, based on the research.
“A lot of the metals that they found, we naturally have in our body, our body naturally uses for various things,” defined Dr. Eboni January, a U.S.-based obstetrician-gynecologist.
“However, when it’s at toxic levels, that is of most concern to me. Lead was found in pretty much every tampon and lead is not safe at any level,” she informed World Information.
Metals have been discovered to improve the danger of dementia, infertility, diabetes and most cancers. They’ll injury the liver, kidneys, mind, and cardiovascular, nervous and endocrine techniques.
“Arsenic is a known carcinogen, period,” January mentioned. “It can cause lung cancer, skin cancer, bladder cancer and fertility issues.”
She added that she believes the research was nicely carried out and hopes extra analysis on the subject will observe.
‘Found metals in everything that we tested’
The researchers evaluated ranges 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 manufacturers throughout america and Europe.
They bought the tampons between September 2022 and March 2023 from shops within the U.S., the UK and Spain and two main on-line retailers.
The researchers didn’t specify which manufacturers they examined, however Shearston mentioned they chose each name-brand and store-brand merchandise that had been extra widespread.
Steel concentrations different relying on the nation the place bought, whether or not the tampons had been natural or non-organic and whether or not they had been store-brand or name-brand.
However there was one widespread issue it doesn’t matter what sort of tampon or the place it was bought: metallic was present in each tampon pattern.
“What’s really important is the consistency of our results, the fact that we found metals in everything that we tested, regardless of what its brand was or characteristics of the product,” Shearston mentioned.
Lead concentrations had been greater in non-organic tampons however arsenic was greater in natural tampons.
A number of poisonous metals had been detectable in all tampon samples, together with arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and vanadium. Amongst these, lead had the best focus.
January will not be positive why zinc and cadmium had been generally seen collectively, however speculates it could be for hygiene functions.
“Zinc is antimicrobial. Maybe they were putting it in there from an antimicrobial standpoint. And those two combined (zinc and cadmium) actually helped to prevent bacteria,” she mentioned.
How are the metals getting in tampons?
Metals could make their means into tampons in a number of methods, Shearston mentioned.
“One of them is that cotton, for example, is a pretty decent accumulator of metals. So it could absorb metals that might be naturally present in soil or water might absorb metals from fertilizer. So that’s one way that some metals could get into some of these products,” she mentioned.
“Also, if it happens that the raw material, like cotton, is grown near a pollution source, for example, near a road or near a lead smelter, some of the metals from those pollution sources might float down and land on the cotton.”
She famous that it’s additionally potential these metals are being added throughout the manufacturing course of, as both an antimicrobial agent, a pigment or a whitener.
Due to this, the authors word that they hope producers of tampons are required to check their merchandise for poisonous metals.
World Information reached out to Tampax maker Procter & Gamble and O.B. tampon proprietor Edgewell Private Take care of touch upon the research, however neither firm responded by the point of publication.
Can it’s absorbed into the physique?
The research discovered lead in all of the tampons examined, however a key query stays unanswered: can these metals be absorbed into the physique?
“We don’t know if the lead can actually come out of the tampon and be absorbed into the body. So while we are finding these metals present in the tampon, we can’t say if it’s contributing to any health effect at this point,” Shearston mentioned.
She emphasised the necessity for additional analysis because of the widespread use of tampons.
Whereas the precise results of those metals stay unclear, January identified a regarding issue: the vagina’s absorbency.
“The vagina is very vascular,” she defined. “So it’s not flat like skin. It has folds essentially. And so what that does is it increases the surface area, and based on the type of cell layer that it is, there’s higher risk for things to be absorbed in the vagina.”
She used the instance of poisonous shock syndrome, which happens when sure toxins from micro organism will be absorbed into the bloodstream by the extremely absorptive vaginal partitions, typically related to using tampons.
“With the vagina being as absorptive as it is, the arsenic in these tampons, that was concerning to me as an ob-gyn,” January mentioned. “Women start their periods at the average age of 12. Menopause average age is 51. So these women have used a ton of tampons. This is chronic exposure.”
Time to throw away the tampons?
There’s no have to panic and throw out your tampons simply but, however this discovering highlights the significance of ongoing analysis in ladies’s well being merchandise, Shearston mentioned.
Whereas the research recognized the presence of metals in tampons, it emphasised the necessity for additional investigation to find out whether or not and to what extent these metals are absorbed by the physique and pose potential well being dangers.
January advised discussing any considerations together with your physician concerning the supplies which may be current in your tampons.
“But we do have other options,” she added. “You have the menstrual cups, you have the disc, you have the reusable pads as well. So do your homework, educate yourself, reach out to the manufacturers and ask them to be transparent.”
