Women Today today called on tampon brands to urgently review the levels of toxic metals in their products amid growing safety concerns.
Tests on 30 products purchased in New York, Athens and London found dangerous levels of arsenic, chromium and even lead.
MailOnline approached the researchers to ask which 14 brands were involved. They declined to comment.
Instead, they stressed that while tampons may be a “potential source of metal exposure” for women, more research is needed to assess their danger.
However, one woman called the findings “unreal,” saying “women are literally being poisoned by these products.”
Tests on 30 products bought in New York, Athens and London have shown that some contained dangerous levels of arsenic, chromium and even lead. All 16 metals tested were found in at least one tampon. But US researchers who conducted the study chose not to name the 14 brands involved
Women have expressed shock and concern on social media over research that found tampons contain toxic metals, but researchers have refused to reveal which 14 brands they tested.
Another person, @danielleweisber, who is also active on X/Twitter, wrote: ‘I feel like there aren’t enough people screaming about the new findings that tampons contain high levels of toxic metals?
‘Like all tampons, even the organic ones?? Why is there arsenic in tampons?????’
A third user, @FraukeEcke, added: ‘What the hell! We need to reduce exposure to environmental pollutants, not increase them! How hard can it be to produce safe sanitary products?’
A fourth also said: ‘The real question is how long these companies have this information’.
Potential exposure to heavy metals through tampons is a concern as the internal tissue of the vagina is thin and these substances can easily enter the body.
Exposure to lead can impair brain development, while other metals can cause life-threatening blood clotting and increase the risk of certain cancers.
The findings also have a potentially far-reaching impact, with approximately 50 to 80 percent of menstruating women use tampons monthly — for several hours at a time.
The following 16 metals were tested in the study: arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper and iron.
Manganese, mercury, nickel, lead, selenium, strontium, vanadium and zinc were among the other substances.
Researchers identified samples of all 16 tampons tested.
Various metals were found in all samples, including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead and vanadium.
Of these substances, lead had the highest concentration, with an average total of 120 nanograms per gram (ng/g).
Cadmium was followed by 6.74 ng/g, with arsenic levels of 2.56 ng/g.
In the study, the 16 metals tested included arsenic, barium, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, and iron. Researchers identified samples of all 16 among the tampons tested
Writing in the diary, Environment Internationalresearchers said: ‘There is no safe exposure level for lead.
“Any amount of lead that leaks from a tampon and enters the bloodstream could contribute to negative health effects.”
They added that no brand or type of tampon had significantly lower levels of metals.
Organic tampons contain higher amounts of arsenic, but non-organic tampons contain higher amounts of lead.
According to the authors, there were several ways the metals could have gotten into the tampons.
One of these was that the cotton plants used to make tampons could have absorbed metals from the soil and water, especially if there were contaminants nearby, for example a cotton field near a lead factory.
They can also be added during manufacturing processes as whitening agents, antibacterial agents or through cross-contamination from other manufacturing processes.
But women who used X/Twitter wondered what impact this would have on tampon users.
“The article I just read implied that no one has ever been required to test for this and I am so angry now,” one person wrote.
“How concerned should I be? How bioavailable are these metals?”
Another added: ‘New research has found that most tampons contain metals such as arsenic and lead (!!!).
‘I’m not a scientist, but this seems really bad to me.’
Dr Jenni Shearston, co-author of the study and an expert in air pollution epidemiology at the University of California, Berkeley, said: ‘Despite this high potential for public health risk, little research has been done on measuring chemicals in tampons.
‘To our knowledge, this is the first paper to measure metals in tampons.
“What is concerning is that we found concentrations of all the metals we tested for, including toxic metals such as arsenic and lead.”
It comes just weeks after US consumer watchdog group Mamavation and the Environmental Working Group also suggested that tampons could contain harmful perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS. They are dubbed “forever chemicals” because they can linger in the environment for hundreds of years and have been linked to everything from cancer and high cholesterol to infertility.
She added: ‘I really hope that manufacturers will be required to test their products for metals, especially toxic metals.
“It would be exciting if the public asked for this, or for better labeling on tampons and other menstrual products.”
Professor Kathrin Schilling, assistant professor and geochemist at Columbia University, said: ‘Although toxic metals are ubiquitous and we are consistently exposed to low concentrations, our study clearly shows that metals are also present in menstrual products and that women may be at greater risk of exposure when using these products.’
However, other experts urged women not to panic, warning that there is “no evidence that the metals pass into menstrual blood.”
Professor Atholl Johnston, emeritus professor of clinical pharmacology at Queen Mary University of London, told MailOnline: ‘I don’t doubt the study findings, but I do doubt the bioavailability of the metals in the tampons.
‘Before being analyzed, the tampons were cut into pieces. The researchers then added 2 ml of 67-70 percent nitric acid (HNO3) to each sample. The tampons were then pre-digested overnight at room temperature, after which they were allowed to digest acid using a microwave.
‘Hardly an environment comparable to the average vagina.’
He added: ‘If I were a woman who used tampons, I wouldn’t be panicking right now.
‘There is no evidence that the metals enter the menstrual blood and are absorbed into the body.’
This comes just weeks after US consumer organisation Mamavation and the Environmental Working Group also suggested that tampons may contain harmful perfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS.
They are called “forever chemicals” because they can last in the environment for hundreds of years. They have been linked to everything from cancer and high cholesterol to infertility.
Mamavation found that its popular Playtex tampons, Always panty liners, and Carefree panty liners, all sold in the US, tested positive for organic fluorine, a chemical that contains PFAS.
Last year, high silver content was also found in a number of period pants in British fashion stores.
Silver is used as an antimicrobial agent and is commonly added to menstrual underwear to combat odor and hygiene concerns.
However, scientists have discovered that nanosilver can kill lactobacillus, the healthy bacteria in the vagina that help fight infections.
This puts menstrual panty users at greater risk of harmful bacteria, which can lead to an increased risk of bacterial infections and complications during pregnancy.
