When Berkeley environmental epidemiologist Jenni Shearston first learned, at a conference in 2019, that toxic metals could be in tampons, she was “flabbergasted.”
“I menstruate, I’ve used tampons, I still use tampons on occasion,” Shearston said. “So I was very alarmed, myself, and shocked that we didn’t know what was in tampons.”
Now, the issue is both personal and professional: Her study, published in April this year in Environment International, is the first to measure toxic metals in tampons.
The study, conducted at Columbia University, tested 30 different tampons for 16 different metals and found 12 of those metals in 100 percent of the tampons they tested, including toxic metals such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium.
These metals are known to be dangerous for humans and increase the risk of diseases like dementia, infertility, and diabetes, while also damaging organs like the liver and brain. According to the study, lead has no “safe” exposure level.
Toxins in tampons are particularly concerning, as vaginal tissue is far more absorptive than normal skin. Tampons are also used by between 52 and 86 percent of the menstruating population in the United States, and often for several hours at a time.
The study did not look into whether the metals have any health effects, and Shearston acknowledged that more research is needed.
Still, she thinks people should be asking questions.
“Tampons have been around since the 1930s,” she said. “We’re using these products in our vaginas, but don’t really know a whole lot about what might be in them.”
Part of the reason for that, she thinks, is that talking about menstruation has been and continues to be taboo.
“That’s harmful,” Shearston said. “That kind of avoidance of talking about this important bodily function means that we don’t ask scientific questions like, ‘What’s in my tampon?’ ‘Could things be absorbed vaginally?’ All these really important things for millions and millions of people.”
The study has already led to some real-world effects. Just a few months after her study was published, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it would conduct a literature review and independent study. According to a release, “the FDA’s laboratory study will measure the amount of metals that come out of tampons under conditions that more closely mimic normal use.”
“It’s really important that we do a better job at prioritizing and funding research that’s specific to women’s health problems,” she said. “I’m really excited that the FDA is investigating because I think it’s needed.”
