Fighting Forever Chemicals in Menstrual Products
Written by Gisela Bunch | Edited by Adaria Crutcher
According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, PFAS (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of man-made chemicals often used for manufacturing. They take long periods of time to break down and can have harmful effects on the environment and people. The Center for Disease Control and Protection has been recording 12 PFAS in blood samples since 1999, indicating widespread exposure among people living in the United States. However, exposure at even a low concentration has been reported to harm our health. PFAS find their way into blood streams through everyday products, including but not limited to food, cosmetics, and even water. Some possible health effects for consumers include decreased fertility, increased blood pressure for pregnant women, damage to the body’s immune system, and increased cholesterol levels. The most horrifying detail about PFAS tells the origin of the nickname for the substances as ‘forever chemicals;’ they cannot be metabolized and instead accumulate in the body. Unfortunately, research on PFAS is extremely hard to conduct, due to the insurmountable amount of PFAS, the different circumstances of people affected, and there has yet to be a conclusive list of every concern.
The first instance of PFAS being found in menstrual products appeared in 2020, when Sierra Magazine published an investigation in partnership with a scientist at the University of Notre Dam. It was discovered that their underwear had high levels of PFAS and zinc, especially in the crotch area. Thinx, a company which prided themselves on being sustainable and safe for women, then underwent a three year long class action lawsuit against consumers. The company reached a settlement in late January of 2023, where they committed to repairing their marketing and production systems, as well as paying back consumers who bought their underwear between November 12, 2016 and November 28, 2022.
The columnist who first found suspicion in her period underwear, Jessian Choy, wrote, “Surely life can’t be so easy that you can bleed seven days a month and feel comfortable.” While her suspicion was centered around the convenience of period underwear, the lawsuit brought to life by her article caused newfound curiosity surrounding more conventional menstrual products, such as pads and tampons. Mamavation and Environmental Health News has reported that 48% of pads had PFAS, along with 22% of tampons and 65% of period underwear. Additionally, more than half the products tested were advertised as natural, sustainable, or harmless. This type of misleading advertisement was a major component of Thinx’s lawsuit. Manufacturers argue the advertising remains partially true, stating they are not even aware harmful substances are present or that there are so few they do not cause harm. Thinx only accepted their settlement while denying charges of purposely adding PFAS to their products.
Professor Graham Peaslee of Notre Dame University, who conducted the first investigation into menstrual products containing PFAS on Jessian Choy’s unused Thinx underwear, tells Time Magazine that legally accusing manufacturing of purposely including PFAS is tough, “What we typically find is hundreds or thousands of parts per million; there’s no regulatory limit on that.”
Unfortunately, as manufacturers continue to debate the intricacies of purposely or mistakenly selling a product with PFAS to millions, many of those products remain on the market and many women are unaware. Researchers are currently conducting more in-depth investigations on the amount of PFAS in menstrual products as well as the connection between PFAS in menstrual products and women’s health. Studies have already found conclusive evidence that PFAS can cause period irregularities, ovarian disorders, and a risk of low birth weight in newborns. Future studies aim to focus on how PFAS might affect a vulnerable body going through menopause or pregnancy, Shruthi Mahalingaiah, assistant professor of environmental, reproductive, and women’s health at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, reports. For now, New York and California have both passed laws requiring companies to list every substance deliberately added to menstrual products. California takes preventative measures a step further, with assembly memberDiane Papan, introducing a bill to remove toxic chemicals from menstrual products mid-April of 2023.
Papan comments, “Women’s health must be prioritized over the use of these unnecessary chemicals. It’s past time to protect women and our environment.”
References
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. (n.d.). PFAS in the US population | ATSDR. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/pfas/health-effects/us-population.html
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Per- and Polyfluorinated Substances (PFAS) Factsheet | National Biomonitoring Program. CDC. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/PFAS_FactSheet.html
Choy, J. (2020, January 7). My Menstrual Underwear Has Toxic Chemicals in It. Sierra Club. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/ask-ms-green/my-menstrual-underwear-has-toxic-chemicals-it
Gupta, A. H. (2023, January 30). What to Know About PFAS in Period Underwear. The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/20/well/pfas-thinx-period-underwear.html
Harvard Chan School. (2023, January 27). Questions raised about PFAS in period products | News | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/questions-raised-about-pfas-in-period-products/
Kluger, J. (2023, February 9). What To Know About PFAS Chemicals in Menstrual Products. Time. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://time.com/6254060/pfas-period-chemicals-underwear-tampons/
Sierra Sun Times. (2023, April 20). California Assemblymember Diane Papan’s Bill to Remove Toxic Chemicals from Menstrual Products Approved by the Assembly Committee. Sierra Sun Times. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://goldrushcam.com/sierrasuntimes/index.php/news/local-news/45431-california-assemblymember-diane-papan-s-bill-to-remove-toxic-chemicals-from-menstrual-products-approved-by-the-assembly-committee
Treisman, R. (2023, January 19). Thinx lawsuit: What to know about the settlement and PFAS exposure. NPR. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://www.npr.org/2023/01/19/1150023002/thinx-period-underwear-lawsuit-settlement
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2023, June 7). Our Current Understanding of the Human Health and Environmental Risks of PFAS | US EPA. EPA. Retrieved July 14, 2023, from https://www.epa.gov/pfas/our-current-understanding-human-health-and-environmental-risks-pfas
