O.B. Noxious!
The chemical Dioxin has been in the news fairly recently with the poisoning of Ukranian presidential candidate (now president) Viktor Yushchenko. What is dioxin? It’s one of the most toxic chemicals known to science, a potent carcinogen, and a poison that has been linked to severe reproductive and developmental effects.
Why, then, do small amounts of dioxins occur in bleached cotton tampons, which are placed in one of the most sensitive, absorbent, and reproduction-related areas of a women’s body?
The FDA claims that it’s not a problem. They say the levels in most tampons are well below dangerous. However, dioxin accumulates in the body over time, so even these tiny levels can eventually be harmful — especially when you consider that the average American woman uses over 11,000 feminine hygiene products in her lifetime.
Additionally, as Heather Guidone says in her study entitled Endometriosis & Dioxin: a Toxic Link?:
Currently, the FDA requires tampon and related menstruation product manufacturers to monitor dioxin levels in their products; however, the results are not available to the public and the dioxin tests relied upon by the FDA are done by the manufacturers themselves. That’s a little bit like having the fox guard the hen house!
So the FDA, trusting giant manufacturing companies to put consumer safety over profit margins, tells us that bleached cotton menstrual products are safe.
What’s a concerned woman to do? Well, in the course of researching a rumour regarding asbestos in tampons (which proved to be false), Snopes’ esteemed Barbara Mikkelson reached the conclusion that the best bet is to buy unbleached organic cotton tampons, which are just as effective as any other tampon while being much safer. And Guidone suggests that you write to your state-level political representatives and urge them to support legislation mandating independent testing of feminine hygiene products to determine and warn consumers about the dangers of dioxin.
