Toxic PFAS in menstrual pads harm reproductive health, advocates says

California lawsuit demands Carefree and parent company Edgewell remove chemicals or add warning label

Carefree menstrual pads are contaminated with toxic PFAS “forever chemicals”, which presents a threat to the reproductive health of women using the products, a new lawsuit filed in California state court alleges.

The suit demands Carefree and its parent company, personal care product giant Edgewell, remove PFAS from the products or put a warning label on its packaging.

The exposure is potentially a “big health problem”, said Vineet Dubey, an attorney representing Ecological Alliance, a consumer advocacy group which brought the suit.

“This is a product that has direct exposure into the bloodstream because of the way it’s used and positioned on women’s bodies, so this is alarming, and it’s scary,” Dubey said. The suit was brought under California’s Proposition 65 law that requires companies to warn the state’s consumers if toxic chemicals are present in products.

Edgewell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

PFAS are a class of about 15,000 chemicals typically used to make products that resist water, stains and heat. They are called “forever chemicals” because they do not naturally break down, and they accumulate in humans and the environment. The chemicals are linked to cancer, kidney disease, liver problems, immune disorders, birth defects and other serious health problems.

There are virtually no federal limits on PFAS in consumer products despite the fact that they are widely used across the economy.

Ecological Alliance tested the products and found PFOA, one of the most common and dangerous PFAS compounds. The Environmental Protection Agency this year found that virtually no level of exposure to PFOA in drinking water is safe and set a drinking water limit of 4ppt (parts per trillion). Testing found PFOA leached from the menstrual pads at about 756ppt per hour.

Recent research found that skin likely absorbs PFAS at much higher rates than previously thought, raising concerns about a product that is pressed up against women’s skin for hours at a time.

PFOA specifically is linked to reproductive health issues like hormone disruption, low birth weight, infertility, immune system toxicity in fetuses and more.

It’s unclear why the chemicals are in the products. PFAS are commonly used as waterproofing agents, and it is possible the PFOA, or a chemical that breaks down into PFOA once in the environment, is intentionally added. PFAS have been detected at high levels in toilet paper and diapers. It is also possible there is unintentional contamination somewhere in the supply chain.

Ecological Alliance in February filed a formal warning that it intended to sue Carefree if the company did not remove the chemicals or take action, or if the state’s regulators and attorney general did not take action. No one responded to the filing.

The suit asks the judge to stop the products from being sold until they’re free of the chemicals. Dubey has previously sued under Proposition 65 for PFAS or other toxic chemical contamination and said companies often reformulate products or make supply chain changes to address the issue, but they do not always.

“I hope [Carefree] acts responsibly because of how potentially dangerous PFAS exposure is in this way, but I never put it past corporations to fight to death to do the wrong thing,” he added.

Cover photo: The exposure is potentially a ‘big health problem’, said attorney Vineet Dubey. Photograph: de-nue-pic/Alamy