Researchers from the University of Notre Dame in the USA have tested more than 70 products from North and South America, Europe, and Asia, including menstrual underwear, reusable pads, and menstrual cups.
The majority of the products – 71.2 percent – contained such low levels that the researchers assume they were not added intentionally, but may have been transferred from packaging materials, for example.
But 33 percent of the menstrual underwear and 25 percent of the reusable pads stood out with levels that were so high that they must have been part of the manufacturing process.
Sold as environmentally friendly
Graham Peaslee, professor emeritus of physics and astronomy, who led the study, has previously conducted studies on disposable menstrual products. He notes that the market for reusable menstrual products is growing rapidly and that they are sold as more environmentally friendly and marketed to consumers who are usually health- and environmentally conscious.
"We found that almost a third of them were made with PFAS. This means that they pose a risk both to those who wear them and to the rest of us when they are eventually discarded, since we know that these eternal chemicals remain when they end up in landfills and contaminate irrigation and drinking water systems for all of us," he says in a comment.
It has been shown that PFAS can migrate from treated surfaces, which worries the researchers because the products are worn so close to the body.
Peaslee adds that there is still much that is not known about the extent to which PFAS are used in manufacturing and the risk of the chemicals being absorbed through the skin by users.
Right questions
The researchers have deliberately chosen not to disclose which brands contained high concentrations, but hope that the study will contribute to increased transparency about which substances are used by the industry and help consumers ask the right questions.
Another important discovery in the study, according to the researchers, is that only a fraction of the examined brands intentionally use PFAS. This is good news, Peaslee emphasizes:
"It shows that PFAS are not needed to manufacture environmentally conscious products, and manufacturers should be able to produce them without containing chemicals that give cause for concern."
The study has been published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters.
PFAS stands for poly- and perfluorinated alkyl substances and can also be called highly fluorinated substances.
PFAS are man-made chemicals that break down extremely slowly and therefore accumulate in nature and in our bodies.
Repeatedly getting PFAS over a longer period can affect health in the long run. Fetuses, infants, and children are believed to be extra sensitive. Studies have shown that PFAS substances can affect the immune system, birth weight, cholesterol levels in the blood, be reproductive disruptors, and increase the risk of certain types of cancer.
PFAS have been manufactured since the 1950s and are, among other things, dirt- and fat-repellent. They are found in all sorts of things, such as makeup, impregnation, popcorn bags, fire extinguishing foam, and solar cells.
PFAS do not occur naturally in nature, but are now found everywhere. For example, millions of Europeans may be exposed to high levels in their drinking water.
