From Daily Mail: Nearly three in four reusable menstrual products contain traces of cancer-causing ‘forever chemicals,’ a new study suggests.
Notre Dame researchers tested nearly 60 pairs of period underwear, pads and cups for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), toxic chemicals that have been linked to cancer, infertility and birth defects.
They earned the name because they don’t break down in the body, instead leeching from nonstick cookware into food and cosmetic products into skin and building up in vital organs, increasing the risk of organ failure, reproductive complications and some forms of cancer.
After analyzing over 300 samples taken from 59 reusable menstrual products, the researchers found 70 percent contained traces of PFAS, though they were low enough to suggest they were not added intentionally.
About a quarter to a third of period underwear and pads had high rates of “intentional fluorination,” meaning the chemicals were added on purpose. The chemicals are used to draw moisture away and coat the surfaces, the Mail reports.
The vast majority of feminine hygiene products did not add these chemicals intentionally, therefore, “PFAS must not be essential” to include, the researchers surmised.
Study author Graham Peaslee, a physicist at the University of Notre Dame, said: “The reusable menstrual product market is a rapidly growing market, which relies heavily on the idea that these products are environmentally conscious because of the significant reduction in the use of paper and plastic products.
“To the extent that they use organic textiles, these products are also marketed to consumers who are typically health and environmentally conscious. However, we found that almost a third of them were being made with PFAS.
“This means these products are both a risk to the wearer as well as to the rest of us when they are eventually disposed of, since we know that these forever chemicals persist when they end up in landfills, contaminating irrigation and drinking water systems for all of us.”
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