A new study detected concentrations of 16 metals in different kinds of tampons, but researchers say the work is just a first step because they don’t know if they are impacting health. Tampons contain concentrations of several metals, including lead, arsenic, and zinc, according to a new study, but more research is needed to determine if it could affect people’s health. Researchers evaluated 16 metals across 14 different tampon brands and found “measurable concentrations” of all the metals evaluated.
This included toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and arsenic, and high levels of calcium and zinc compared to the other metals. Tampons are typically made of cotton or rayon and are used to absorb menstrual flow inside the body. Researchers say the product is of particular concern for potential chemical exposure because the vagina is “highly absorptive” and people who menstruate use them regularly for years.
“This study is a first step because while we did find metals in tampons, we don’t know if the metals can leach out of the tampons and be absorbed by the body. We don’t know if the metals in tampons are impacting health,” Jenni Shearston, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Berkeley and lead author of the study, told Euronews Health in an email. “This is why it’s really important that we continue to study tampons, especially because a large number of people (about 52-86 per cent of menstruating people) use tampons, and use them for de.
