Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday that would ban the sale of tampons and other menstrual products in California that contain certain levels of potentially toxic chemicals.
The law will prohibit by 2025 the manufacture and sale of menstrual products containing the artificial additives perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl, also known as PFAS. If such products have PFAS added unintentionally, the law requires that by 2027 manufacturers must keep it below a level to be determined by the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
The law also allows for fines for those who violate the prohibited law.
These chemicals can help make the materials in tampons and pads more absorbent, but advocates argue they can be replaced with safer products.
Assemblywoman Diane Papan (D-San Mateo), who sponsored the bill, called the legislation “a bright step forward for women’s health.” PFAS has been present in a variety of consumer products, including cosmetics, cleaning products, non-stick cookware, drinking water and artificial turf, for decades.
“This application – because it is so intimate and affects 50% of people in the most important part of their lives – there was a great urgency to it,” said Papan. “These are very dangerous chemicals. Can you believe that women in 2024 have to stay here and fight for this? It blows my mind.”
Exposure to PFAS, often called permanent chemicals because of their nondegradability, has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, increased cholesterol, changes in liver function and high blood pressure and preeclampsia during pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This is not the first time this problem has been raised in California. A similar bill sponsored by Papan received bipartisan support in the Legislature but was vetoed by Newsom last year. The governor at the time said he “strongly supported” the intent of the bill. In his veto message, he ordered the Department of Toxic Substances Control to cooperate with Papan.
“The chemical ban of one product made previously, which also lacks oversight, proves challenging to implement, with inconsistent interpretations and confusion among manufacturers about how to comply with the restrictions,” he wrote in his veto message.
The California law comes amid growing concern nationwide about the contents of feminine hygiene products.
A consumer study published in 2022 by the watchdog group Mamavation in collaboration with Environmental Health News found that 22% of 23 tampon products tested in the lab contained traces of PFAS. Of the 46 sanitary pads and panty liners tested, 48% had PFAS indicators, according to the study.
In June, Vermont became the first state to ban such chemicals from tampons and sanitary pads.
Alexandra Scranton, director of science and research at Women’s Voices for the Earth, said California’s new law is another “nail in the coffin” for PFAS. California recently banned the use of permanent chemicals in cosmetics, clothing, food packaging, boats and firefighting foam.
“We think that it is not particularly suitable for menstrual products because these are products that are used on certain parts of the body that are very sensitive and absorbent,” she said.
However, concerns about other ingredients persist.
In July, a study conducted by researchers at Columbia University, UC Berkeley and Michigan State University, found the presence of 16 potentially harmful metals in tampons sold by more than a dozen brands.
In response, four members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus wrote a letter to the US Food and Drug Administration this month demanding that the agency address safety concerns about the ingredients in toners and their potential health effects.
“Women use about 7,400 tampons during their reproductive years, so the presence of potentially harmful metals and chemicals in these products is incredibly concerning,” the lawmakers wrote.
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