The researchers found lead in all the tampons they tested, and at least one of the tested tampons had 16 different metals. Furthermore, organic tampons don’t really seem much better.

Tampons and metals

In a Harvard survey, almost half of respondents used regular tampons placed within the vagina. So, you’d expect them to be closely monitored for contaminants and heavy metals — but this isn’t the case.

“Despite this large potential for public health concern, very little research has been done to measure chemicals in tampons,” said lead author Jenni A. Shearston, a postdoctoral scholar at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health and UC Berkeley’s Department of Environmental Science, Policy, & Management. “To our knowledge, this is the first paper to measure metals in tampons. Concerningly, we found concentrations of all metals we tested for, including toxic metals like arsenic and lead.”

Shearston and colleagues tested 30 tampons from 14 different brands, evaluating the content of 16 different metals including arsenic, barium, cobalt, copper, iron, mercury, nickel, lead, and selenium.

The metal concentrations varied by purchasing location (US vs. EU/UK), organic vs. non-organic, and store- vs. name-brand. However, there was no major difference between different categories of tampons. Some categories had fewer of some metals but more of others (for instance, organic tampons had less lead but more arsenic). Overall, though, no category ranked substantially better than others.

Is this dangerous?

Metals like lead, cadmium, and arsenic are known for their toxicity and long-term health effects. Lead, for instance, has no safe exposure level and is associated with neurological, renal, cardiovascular, and reproductive issues. Cadmium exposure can lead to kidney damage and is linked to cardiovascular diseases. And arsenic is a known carcinogen that can also affect the cardiovascular and nervous systems.

The concentrations found were relatively low. For example, the geometric mean concentration of lead was found to be 120 ng/g, cadmium 6.74 ng/g, and arsenic 2.56 ng/g. However, the vagina’s mucosal membrane is highly absorptive, potentially allowing chemicals to enter the bloodstream more efficiently than through other routes. This raises significant concerns about the potential for metals in tampons to leach out and be absorbed into the body, leading to systemic exposure.

It’s not clear whether these metals are actually causing any negative side effects. Given the prolonged use of tampons throughout a menstruating individual’s life, the cumulative exposure to these metals could have significant long-term health implications. However, as we have not researched this directly, it’s hard to say whether they are actually dangerous or not.

“We just need more information,” Shearston told Today.com in an interview about the research.

What we can do for the moment

In the meantime, consumers must be aware of this and push producers to enforce stricter standards and verifications.

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

The findings of this study point to an urgent need for regulatory oversight and rigorous testing of tampons for chemical contaminants. Currently, tampon regulations in the US, EU, and UK do not mandate testing for metal content. The study’s authors advocate for comprehensive safety evaluations and stricter regulations to ensure consumer protection.

“Tampon use is a potential source of exposure to metals in menstruating people,” the researchers conclude in the study.

The study Tampons as a source of exposure to metal(loid)s was published in the journal Environment International.