All 16 Metals Detected in 30 Tampons, With Geometric Mean Lead of 120 ng/g; Absorption Not Confirmed

An analysis published in Environment International reports that metals such as lead, cadmium and arsenic were detected in tampons at measurable concentrations. Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health and UC Berkeley in the United States digested 30 tampons (60 samples) from 14 brands and 18 product lines purchased in the United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom, and then measured 16 metals and metalloids by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The researchers said this is the first study to measure metals in tampons.

All 16 were detected in at least one sample. Among the toxic metals, the geometric mean was 120 ng/g for lead, 6.74 ng/g for cadmium and 2.56 ng/g for arsenic. Concentrations differed by place of purchase, whether the product was organic, and whether it was a retailer's store brand. Lead was higher in non-organic products and arsenic was higher in organic products, so no category was consistently lower for most metals.

'Contained' and 'Absorbed by the Body' Are Different Matters

This study measured the amount in the products, not the amount that entered users' bodies. Whether metals leach out of a tampon under real-use conditions, or pass through the vaginal epithelium and are absorbed into the bloodstream, has not been confirmed. Therefore, the size of any health risk cannot be judged from these results alone. The researchers said that because the products contain metals such as lead, for which no safe exposure level has been established, replication studies and leaching and absorption studies are needed. The small sample of 30 is also a limitation.