Scientists have discovered a pesticide linked to cancer at very high levels in tampons in the UK
Scientists have issued a warning to Brits after discovering toxic pesticides in tampons at levels 40 times the drinking water limit.
Experts have tested 15 boxes of tampons from UK shops and supermarkets, including a range of popular brands, and found glyphosate in tampons in one of the boxes at levels 40 times higher than is permitted in drinking water.
Glyphosate is the world’s most commonly used herbicide, but was declared a “probable carcinogen” by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2015, meaning it has links to cancer. The chemical has also been linked to other serious health conditions like Parkinson’s.
According to a report by the Pesticide Action Network UK (Pan UK), the Women’s Environmental Network and the Pesticide Collaboration, glyphosate was found in tampons in one of the boxes at 0.004 mg/kg.
The UK and EU maximum residue level for drinking water is 0.0001 mg/kg, making this 40 times higher than permitted levels of glyphosate in drinking water.
Since half of the world’s population have periods, each using an average of 11,000 disposable menstrual products during their lifetime, experts warn the presence of the toxic chemical in tampons is a “blatant gap in health and safety regulation”.
The report wrote: “Given the global concern around the impact of glyphosate on human health, finding it in tampons is particularly alarming.
“Unlike when ingested through food or water, chemicals absorbed via the vagina directly enter the bloodstream, bypassing the body’s detoxification systems and therefore posing a significant health risk.”
Pesticides end up in period products after being used to grow cotton, which is the main ingredient in tampons. The researchers detected aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA) in the tampons, a breakdown of glyphosate, which implies that the cotton was treated with glyphosate somewhere in the supply chain, the report states.
Amy Heley, from the Pesticide Collaboration, said: “If this level of glyphosate is deemed to be unsafe in the water we drink, why is it allowed to appear in our period products?
“Our investigation reveals that women, girls and those who menstruate may not be protected from exposure to harmful chemicals. And yet, most people remain completely unaware that this is even an issue.”
The report also says the lab could not distinguish whether the glyphosate was found in only one tampon in the box, or all of them.
Josie Cohen, the interim director at Pan UK, said: “We were genuinely shocked to find glyphosate in tampons sitting on UK shelves. This harmful chemical is already impossible to avoid since it’s sprayed by councils in streets and parks and contaminates much of our food and water due to its overuse in farming.
“We urgently need to reduce our overall toxic load and shouldn’t have to worry about glyphosate and other highly hazardous pesticides in our period products. This is a blatant gap in health and safety regulation that the government urgently needs to address.”
Last year, a study found that different kinds of tampons can contain up to 16 metals or metaloids including several toxic metals like lead and arsenic.
The research concluded that using tampons could be a “potential source of exposure to metals in menstruating people”.
