Tampons may conain harmful metals, leading to systemic exposure, reveals research
A recent study published by Jenni A. and colleagues in the journal Environment International established that tampons can include harmful metals, which may lead to systemic exposure. Tampons are one of the common menstrual products used to absorb menstrual flow and are made up of cotton and/or rayon/viscose. As part of agricultural and manufacturing processes, these tampons may include metals, which can be eluted or released onto or into the highly absorptive tissue of the vagina. No studies have measured the concentrations of metals in tampons and assessed their potential health risks.
This study has a primary objective of assessing 16 metalloids in 30 tampons from 14 brands and 18 product lines and, in addition, comparing these concentrations among certain tampon characteristics. The researchers used 0.2 — 0.3 g each from the tampons in the analysis for 60 tampon samples with microwave-acid digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry.Measured metals included arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, strontium, vanadium, and zinc. Concentrations were compared by region of purchase, organic versus non-organic material, and store-brand versus name-brand Tampons using median quantile mixed models.
• The study found measurable concentrations of all 16 metals in the tampons. Notably, several toxic metals were detected, including:
• Geometric mean (GM) of Lead: 120 ng/g
• Cadmium: GM of 6.74 ng/g
• Arsenic: GM of 2.56 ng/g
• Metal concentrations varied based on where the tampons were purchased US vs European Union/United Kingdom, organic vs non-organic raw material and Store-brand vs name brand tampons
• The concentration of lead was greater in the non-organic whereas arsenic was highest in the organic tampons
• No category had the lowest concentrations of all or most metals.
The presence of potentially unsafe metals such as lead, gives warning on the safety of the products studied. While lots of the metals emerged more strongly in non-organic pads and tampons, others, like arsenic, were higher in the organic variety.The study calls for verification by future studies and analysis for the possibility of metal leaching from the tampons and crossing the vaginal epithelium into the systemic circulation.
Reference:
Shearston, J. A., Upson, K., Gordon, M., Do, V., Balac, O., Nguyen, K., Yan, B., Kioumourtzoglou, M.-A., & Schilling, K. (2024). Tampons as a source of exposure to metal(loid)s. Environment International, 190(108849), 108849. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2024.108849
