2024-08-21 13:56:34
Heavy metals such as lead in tampons: The results of a US study have worried many women. “Öko-Test” has now sent local tampon brands to the laboratory.
A tampon comes pretty close to you – so there shouldn’t be anything in it that could pose a health risk to the body. And so many women were very concerned when a study by New York’s Columbia University discovered heavy metals in tampons. The researchers examined 30 tampons, mainly products from the US market, for 16 elements – including toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury.
They found at least one of the 16 substances examined in every tampon they tested. However, the magazine “Öko-Test” points out that all of the levels measured in the US study are below the applicable EU limits (issue 9/2024). And it asks the question: What about tampons that are available on the German market?
The magazine had 23 tampons available in Germany tested in the laboratory for heavy metals. In addition to the 16 elements examined in the US study, it also had the products tested for antimony. This is a semi-metal that is often part of the fleece that covers the tampon absorbent core.
The “Öko-Test” conclusion in one word: all clear. The testers were able to detect all of the elements examined in the tampons except for mercury and selenium. However, the measured values tend to be lower than in the US study. “Öko-Test” classifies the heavy metal contamination in all products as “low”.
In order to classify the values, the testers make sample calculations – for example with regard to antimony. According to “Öko-Test”, a person with a body weight of 60 kilograms would have to use more than 180 tampons a day to exhaust the intake of antimony tolerated by the World Health Organization (WHO). This assumes that the toxic heavy metal dissolves completely from the product and enters the body.
However, according to further research by “Öko-Test”, this is not to be feared. It states: “The heavy metal content, which was only analyzed in low concentrations anyway, does not dissolve out of the tampon material in our studies.” However, studies from the USA indicate that heavy metals can actually dissolve out of tampons under certain conditions. However, there is still a lack of knowledge about how metals are absorbed through the vaginal mucosa.
But how can heavy metals such as arsenic, lead or mercury get into tampons? You have to know that these elements occur naturally in the soil and can be absorbed by plants such as cotton – a component of many hygiene products – as “Öko-Test” explains.
By the way: If you want to be on the safe side, you can use tampons made of organic cotton. According to the magazine, they are less common and contain less antimony, lead, cadmium, nickel, barium and zinc.