By Sophie Jackson.
I don’t often question my use of everyday household products. I tend to assume that someone has tested them, and they have been proven safe, hence, why they have ended up in my shopping cart and onto a shelf in my home. However, as I scrolled through the news and came across an article about toxic metals found in tampons, I lost that sense of assurance.
The study analyzed 14 different brands of tampons for the presence of 16 metals. The metals evaluated were detected in each brand. Lead and arsenic are two of the metals highly emphasized in the findings of the study, with arsenic levels higher in organic brands and lead levels higher in non-organic brands. This emphasis is likely due to their harmful health impacts. Common health effects associated with lead exposure are brain, kidney, and reproductive issues. It is also important to note there is no “safe” level of lead exposure. Arsenic exposure is associated with skin, lung, and bladder cancers.
While the contamination source is currently unknown, researchers believe likely possibilities are manufacturing-related metal additions or the bioaccumulation of metals in cotton exposed to contaminated waters or soils.
Unfortunately, there are many unknowns. There is currently no research available to determine if metal presence in tampons is leading to an actual exposure to these metals or related to conditions like endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome, cervical cancer, or infertility.
With an average of 52-86% of women in the US using tampons, these findings should be of interest to a majority of women. Many have been using tampons since their early teens and for a period of 3-7 days each month, thus facing a fairly regular risk of potential exposure.
This leaves women with many questions. Is this contamination a recent occurrence or have women potentially been exposed for years or even decades? Is tampon usage actually leading to metal exposure and does this result in accumulation of metals in the body? If so, which metals are more likely to accumulate? Answers to these questions are vital to provide clarity and create proper guidance for women.
To lower the potential for exposure, women can opt for alternative menstrual products. Pads and menstrual cups are two common options. However, studies must still be conducted to determine if pads face the same metal contamination as tampons, potentially acting as an additional exposure risk for women. Menstrual cups are another option. Although they are initially more expensive, they are cost-effective long term.
It is important to acknowledge that alternative products may not be accessible to all women. With 21% of women in the U.S. facing difficulty affording period products every month, precautionary actions are not always a valid option. These disparities carry over when addressing access to toxin exposure screenings and reproductive healthcare. While women wait to see the potential ramifications of these findings, we must do more to test everyday products and protect all groups of people from harmful chemical exposures.