4 Things To Know If You're Worried About Toxic Metals In Tampons

There are certain words you don’t want associated with things you put inside of your body. “Toxic” is one, and “metals” is another. So when a 2024 study found that there are toxic metals in tampons, it was upsetting — especially because it wasn’t clear what that actually meant. Suddenly, in addition to age-old questions like “do tampons expire,” “how often should you change a tampon,” and “can you flush tampons,” tampon users everywhere started to wonder: are there chemicals in tampons? Are tampons safe?

In my humble opinion, these are questions that deserve accurate answers, so I enlisted the help of two experts: toxicologists Dr. Norbert Kaminski, Ph.D. and Dr. Joe Zagorski, Ph.D. from the Center for Research on Ingredient Safety at Michigan State University. From our conversations, I learned that there’s more to the story, and that — so as not to bury the lede — yes, tampons are safe. Here’s what you should know.

The “toxic metals in tampons” study did not take into account how tampons are actually used.

The study — which found “measurable concentrations of dozens of metals and metalloids” like lead and arsenic in tampons — was, according to Dr. Kaminski, scientifically sound, with one key caveat. “The only criticism that I would have of that paper is that they never put their results into any kind of context,” he said. In other words, while they tested the tampons with microwave acid digestion — in which tampons are placed along with acid in a sealed container and microwaved for a specified period of time — they never tested them being used in a vagina.

This left Dr. Kaminski with some questions. The first: which metals are actually able to come out of tampons under physiological conditions (aka when they are being used as intended)? The second: what percentage of those metals actually come into contact with tissue? And finally, of that percentage, how much is actually able to be absorbed by the body?

With each of these delineations — using the tampons as tampons, coming into contact with tissue, and finally absorption by the body, “you’re reducing the amount tremendously,” says Dr. Kaminski. “I’m not going to say that no metals leach out from those products, because we just don’t know — but based on the amounts that were measured in this study, it is unlikely that significant amounts come out.”

The reason why there are metals in tampons is pretty simple.

So how are these metals getting into tampons in the first place? The answer is a lot less sinister than you might assume. “The reality is that plants, like the cotton plant, will take up metals from the soil,” said Dr. Kaminski. “And that’s not true just for cotton, but also for our food products. These metals are part of the earth, and depending on how the cotton is sourced and from where, it’s going to have some of these metals present.”

Dr. Kaminski went on to say that it’s virtually impossible to eliminate exposure to toxic metals; we get some through our diet, and some through products like tampons. He also said that not all metals we’re exposed to are bad for us — in fact, some are essential for life. What matters is how much is actually taken up by the body.

“Everything is toxic at a high enough level or dose. We can even say that about salt, and about water, which are essential things we need for sustaining life,” said Dr. Kaminski. Dr. Zagorski agreed. “It’s important to remember that detection doesn’t mean harm. The dose makes the poison.”

Organic tampons are in the same boat.

Wondering if organic tampons (or at least the best organic tampons) have fewer metals than their non-organic counterparts? Both experts told Bustle that, if a tampon is made with cotton, it is subject to the same materials. “Since these metals/metalloids are being taken out of the earth by plants during their life cycle, it does not matter if the plants are grown with conventional or organic practices,” said Dr. Zagorski. “If these chemicals are present where the plants are being grown, it will accumulate in the plant tissue to some extent.”

Misinformation is real.

When news of this study first broke, lots of scary headlines made their way into our feeds and our group chats. While much of this coverage was factual, it often lacked important context, and as a result, made a product many people rely on seem potentially dangerous. It’s important to know the whole story.

“I want to make sure that people are not frightened by these products, because I don’t think there is a reason for that at this time,” said Dr. Kaminski. “We should do more studies and find out what is actually able to leach out of tampons when they’re used the way they’re supposed to be,” he went on. “But my suspicion is that it’s going to be miniscule. At this point, fear is not warranted.”

Dr. Zagorski echoed his sentiment. “When used appropriately and according to medical guidelines, I have no concerns on the safety of these products,” he said.

Experts:

Norbert Kaminski, Ph.D., Professor and Director, Institute For Integrative Toxicology at Michigan State University

Dr. Joe Zagorski, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Center for Research on Ingredient Safety at Michigan State University