NEW YORK (HealthDay News)—The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it will conduct an independent review of any possible effects of toxic metals found in tampons.
The announcement comes after the publication of a study that found traces of lead and other metals in 30 tampons from 14 brands on sale in major retail and online stores in the United States, the United Kingdom and Greece.
The work was carried out by a team from the University of California at Berkeley and published in “Environmental International”.
“The FDA is aware of concerns about the safety of tampons after a 2024 study found metals in tampons during laboratory testing,” the agency said in its announcement.
The FDA emphasized that tampons are tested for safety and effectiveness before they hit stores, but added that its review of existing data and its own laboratory study should clarify the questions raised.
They raise questions
“Although the study found metals in some tampons, it did not evaluate whether the metals are released when used,” the FDA noted. “It also did not look at the release of metals, their absorption into the vaginal lining, and their entry into the bloodstream during use.”
“The FDA laboratory study will measure the amount of metals coming out of tampons under conditions that more closely resemble normal use,” the agency added in the statement. “These initiatives will allow the FDA to complete a risk assessment of the metals contained in tampons, based on a worst-case scenario of metal exposure.”
The UC Berkeley study was led by Jenni Shearston, a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Public Health. His team looked for concentrations of arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, strontium, vanadium and zinc in commercially sold tampons.
Several metals were found in the products and in one of them all 16 metals were detected.
The organic tampons had less lead and more arsenic than the non-organic ones. The study also found that products sold in the United States had higher concentrations of lead than those marketed in Europe.
“Our findings point to the need for regulations requiring testing of metals in tampons by manufacturers,” the researchers wrote.
Tampons are made with cotton, rayon, or a combination of both. Researchers said the metals could have come from the soil through the plants used to make the products. The presence of metals could also be related to the chemicals used in tampons as antimicrobials or to control odor.
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2024-09-30 07:01:25
