In case you missed it, a study was recently published that found various metals, including some toxic metals, in many popular tampon brands. Now, stories are circulating throughout news outlets, with headlines like “Toxic Metals in Tampons,” “Tampons Contain Arsenic,” and “Tampons = DEATH!”
Maybe that last one is a bit exaggerated, but you get the idea: The media has grabbed ahold of the information in this study and run with it. The negative health effects of heavy metals are well documented, so as you can imagine, those who have been using tampons for, say, twenty or thirty years, are quite understandably… freaking out.
And we’re here to say, there’s no reason to freak out. (Maybe?) Or rather, everything is fine. (We think?) The truth is, we don’t have enough absolute information to determine what exactly this study means for tampon users.
So today, we’ll give you the facts as they currently stand, without that added dose of fear mongering or extrapolation. Let’s start by taking a look at what this study actually said.
Are there harmful chemicals in tampons?
We’re not going to sugarcoat it for you: The answer is yes.
The study, just published in Environment International, tested 30 tampons from across 14 (unnamed) brands and 18 product lines for various types of metals. The metals they were looking for were: arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, strontium, vanadium, and zinc. Long story short, they found measurable concentrations of all 16 metals assessed, including lead, cadmium, and arsenic—which are considered to be toxic.
The concentration of these various metals differed by region of tampon purchase and type, but all categories of tampons had significant levels of all or most metals.
Which tampons are least toxic?
Unfortunately, this was not a study that named names, so we don’t know which brands were involved. We do know, however, that non-organic tampons had higher concentrations of lead, while organic tampons had higher levels of arsenic. Tampons purchased in the U.K. and E.U. had less cadmium and lead than those purchased in the U.S.
So What Does This Mean, Exactly?
Should you throw out your tampons immediately, or even (to be safe) burn them under the light of the next full moon? While that could be fun, some experts are advising us to take this with a grain of salt.
One such expert is Dr. Jen Gunter, a Canadian gynecologist. She recently wrote this article in response to several “click-bait articles” surrounding this study, to help separate fact from fiction.
She breaks down the key findings in the study to just focus on the three metals that are toxic: arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb). Let’s a take a look at the mean (average) and maximum (a.k.a., worst case scenario) levels of these three metals found in all tampons across the study:
Arsenic: Mean: 2.56 nanograms (ng), Maximum: 14.1 ng
Cadmium: Mean: 6.74 ng, Maximum: 56.1 ng
Lead: Mean: 120 ng, Maximum: 468 ng
In her article, Gunter does a whole lot of math, converting numbers and comparing the amount of these metals in tampons to the amount found in various foods and drinks. For example, according to Gunter, one bottle of water could contain up to 2,500 ng of each lead, cadmium, and arsenic—significantly more than you’ll find in a tampon.
What is the recommended level of heavy metals in food?
In an ideal world there wouldn’t be any heavy metals in food, but the truth is, almost all foods we consume contain them. This is because heavy metals are naturally-occurring in the environment, thus found in soil, water, and air. To nobody’s surprise, human-created pollution adds to these levels. As plants grow, they absorb these contaminants, which is how it ends up in our foods—and in this case, in our tampons.
(Additionally, some of the heavy metals found in this study could have been added in later, with things like odor control, pigment, or as an antibacterial agent.)
Because of the prevalence of heavy metals in food and products, various U.S. organizations have created daily acceptable amounts of such metals. To go one step further, let’s use California’s Proposition 65, which is much more conservative than, say, the EPA, to discuss the daily acceptable levels.
How much arsenic is acceptable daily?
According to Prop 65, there is “no significant risk level” when arsenic is consumed at 10 mcg per day, or 10,000 ng per day.
How much lead is acceptable daily?
Lead can safely be consumed at .5 mcg per day, or 500 ng per day.
How much cadmium is acceptable daily?
Cadmium can be consumed at 4.1 mcg, or 4,100 ng per day.
So, as Dr. Gunter points out, even the maximum amount of heavy metals found in tampons across the board aren’t close to the daily acceptable amount for arsenic or cadmium.
What about lead? “One super tampon could have more lead than California allows in supplements,” she says, “but the amount is still less than the EPA allows in a bottle of water.”
Do tampons deliver these metals?
Tampons do contain heavy metals. The real question is, do they deliver them into the vagina? And if they do, can they then enter the bloodstream?
Unfortunately, this study can’t tell us that. The tampons reviewed in this study were exposed to nitric acid and then heated up to 365 degrees Fahrenheit for an hour in order to extract these metals—which is a much different environment than the vagina.
“Future research is needed to replicate our findings and determine whether metals can leach out of tampons and cross the vaginal epithelium into systemic circulation,” the study concludes.
What now?
This study tells us there are metals in tampons, some of which are toxic. We don’t yet know what this means for human health—but regulators should take this information seriously and start mandating heavy-metal testing for tampons. Unfortunately, there’s not exactly a great track record for period product testing, so here are some things you can keep in mind:
- Choose products that don’t contain plastics, fragrances, or colorants.
- Products with fewer ingredients will likely have fewer chemicals in general.
- Organic tampons are not necessarily safer than non-organic tampons, in terms of heavy metals.
- You can use a menstrual cup, pad, or period underwear instead of tampons if you’re worried.
- Menstrual cups and period underwear cut down on the waste of tampons and pads.
- Menstrual cups, period underwear, and pads also remove the (very low) risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome associated with tampons.
- And, burning your tampons in a full moon ceremony is always an option.
