Toxic arsenic and lead commonly found in tampons: landmark study

Take this in — a new study of 30 tampons from 14 brands finds they contain toxic metals like lead and arsenic.“Despite this large potential for public health concern, very little research has been done to measure chemicals in tampons,” said lead study author Jenni A.Shearston, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California Berkeley.

“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’s team evaluated levels of 16 metals — arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, strontium, vanadium and zinc.They found metals in all types of tampons, though concentrations varied by where the tampons were purchased (US vs.

EU/UK), organic vs.non-organic, and generic vs.

name-brand.Lead concentrations were higher in non-organic tampons, while arsenic was greater in organic tampons.The findings were published this week in the journal Environment International.34 million American women use tampons, often for hours at a time and for several days.The authors of the latest study say they need to research if the metals are contributing to any negative health effects.Lead is of particular concern.

Any lead that leaches out of a tampon can lead to “numerous adverse neurological, renal, cardiovascular, hematological, immunological, reproductive, and developmental effects,” the researchers wrote in their findings.Lead is stored in the bones, replacing calcium, and can be retained in the body for decades.Study co-author Kathrin Schilling, an assistant professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, explains, “Although toxic metals are ubiquitous and we are exposed to low levels at any given time, our study clearly shows that metals are also present in menstrual products and that women might be at higher risk for exposure using thes...