SOUTHERN COLORADO — Weeks after the release of a study finding metals like lead and arsenic in tampons, doctors say it is unclear whether the trace amounts of metal are being absorbed into womens' bodies.
News 5 wanted to know what, if anything, the state is doing to look into the findings of the study and if women should make any changes to how they choose to manage their periods.
We went to UCHealth to speak with Dr. Danielle Frock-Welnack, who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology. She explained the UC Berkeley study published in Environment International studied 60 different name-brand tampons, including some made of organic cotton. Researchers found they all had trace amounts of 16 metals or metaloids.
"My initial reaction was that this was an unfortunate finding. I feel like tampons are really important to most women and their quality of life, and when you take a product that is trusted and used by 50 to 80 percent of menstruating females, you know, you're going to cause some discomfort, and people are going to ask questions," Dr. Frock-Welnack said.
Researchers at UC Berkeley found cadmium at 6.74 parts per billion in tampons. They found they contained 2.56 parts per billion of arsenic and 120 parts per billion of lead. They noted that's 24 times above the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's allowable limit for bottled water.
"We put chemicals and metals into our bodies every day which many do not realize," says Dr. Frock-Welnack, "including microplastics which are in most of our food and water."
“We blindly trust that things that we find on a grocery store shelf are safe. Supplements are no different than, say, our tampons. It's something that we put into our body, and we're not fully cognizant of everything that is added to those products,” she said.
Dr. Frock-Welnack says the study did not examine whether the trace metals and metaloids are being absorbed into women's bodies and having any effect.
"We may find that there is minimal absorption, and we can hopefully put this to rest, and women can continue to use tampons without concern of any negative outcomes. However, right now, we don't know, and I can't say with certainty that there isn't harm being done by tampon use," she said.
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser's office is aware of the study and tells News5 it cannot confirm whether it is investigating or joining any other state AG's investigations into the findings.
An office spokesman tells News5, "We encourage Coloradans who think they have been harmed to file a report with our office at StopFraudColorado.gov.” That website redirects you if you click, 'Make a Complaint,' to the Attorney General's website. File a concern by clicking the section, 'Products and Services.'
Dr. Frock-Welnack suggested other alternatives for women who want to move away from using tampons, including silicon-based menstrual disks and cups, and menstrual underwear.
"Other things that we like to talk about being an OB-GYN is that you don't always have to have a period. It isn't necessary. And as long as it's hormonally-mediated, it's a very safe option. So, we can actually reduce the use of all of these products by talking with our OB-GYNs and learning a little bit more about how we can suppress our menstrual periods," she said.
Future research is planned to test whether these metals leach out of tampons and how much is being absorbed into womens' bodies.
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