New Report Found Potentially Harmful Metals in Tampons Sold by Over a Dozen Brands

Text of Letter (PDF)

BOSTON – Today, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Policy Co-Chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC), joined her DWC colleagues Reps. Summer Lee (PA-12) and Rep. Grace Meng (NY-06) and Policy Co-Chair Kathy Manning (NC-06) in sending a letter to U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf, M.D., calling for the FDA to swiftly address safety concerns over the ingredients in tampons and the potential health impacts.  

This letter follows the release of a July 2024 study from researchers at Columbia University, the University of California Berkeley, and Michigan State University, that found potentially harmful metals in tampons sold by over a dozen brands. This study contributes to a growing body of research that shows that tampons contain metals and other harmful materials, such as forever chemicals. Research also shows that these materials can enter the body, as tampons can cause tiny tears in the vagina, leaving women vulnerable to toxic metals and chemicals. 

“Women use about 7,400 tampons over the course of their reproductive years, so the presence of potentially harmful metals and chemicals in these products is incredibly concerning” the members wrote. “Exposure to heavy metals can cause severe negative health effects, including damage to the cardiovascular system and liver, and an increased risk of cancer among many other complications.”  “The FDA must review and improve the current safety standards for tampons,” the members implored. We urge the FDA to take swift action to ensure that women are safe from harmful and toxic substances in tampons.” 

DWC’s Policy Co-Chairs Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Kathy Manning, along with members Rep. Summer Lee and Rep. Grace Meng further explained the importance of the FDA addressing these safety concerns: 

“It’s unconscionable to think that women could be putting their health and lives at risk simply by using basic, essential hygiene products like tampons,” said Congresswoman Pressley, DWC Policy Co-Chair. “In light of this alarming report, we’re calling on the FDA to take urgent action to ensure the safety of these products, protect the health of those who depend on them, and give women the peace of mind that they can use them without putting themselves at risk.”

“Tampons are essential menstrual hygiene products used by over 30 million women of reproductive age in the United States,” said Congresswoman Kathy Manning (NC-06). “That’s why I’m joining my Democratic Women’s Caucus colleagues to call on the FDA to swiftly address safety concerns posed by tampon ingredients. No woman should have to question the safety of these necessary, everyday products.” 

“As a nation, we cannot afford to overlook the health and safety of the millions of people who rely on tampons every day. The findings of this study are alarming and highlight the urgent need for stricter safety standards,” said Congresswoman Summer Lee (PA-12). “Everyone deserves transparency and assurance that the products they use won’t harm their health. I stand with my colleagues in urging the FDA to take immediate action to protect all individuals from exposure to harmful metals and chemicals in tampons.” 

“Millions of American consumers use tampons. They should be able to trust that the products they see on store shelves are properly regulated and will not negatively affect their health and wellbeing,” said Congresswoman Grace Meng (NY-06). “I have long championed efforts to make menstrual products safer, and now my colleagues and I are calling on the FDA to take immediate action to address harmful chemicals and metals found in dozens of tampon brands. We cannot stand by while essential menstrual hygiene products are putting millions of Americans’ health and safety at risk.” 

Read the full letter here.

Rep. Pressley has been steadfast in her advocacy for women’s health and has fought persistently to protect fundamental reproductive and sexual healthcare rights. She successfully pushed the FDA to propose a ban on harmful chemicals in hair relaxing products, which are disproportionately marketed to women, and recently requested an update from FDA on its implementation. Rep. Pressley has also consistently advocated for policies that affirm abortion care as a human right, including medication abortion, and for oral contraception to be made free, over the counter.

• On the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, Rep. Pressley introduced the Abortion Justice Act, sweeping, intersectional legislation to address access to abortion care and put forth a comprehensive vision of a just America where abortion care is readily available—without stigma, shame or systemic barriers—for all who seek it, regardless of zip code, immigration status, income, or background.
• Rep. Pressley is a lead co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), bicameral federal legislation to guarantee equal access to abortion care, everywhere. 
• Rep. Pressley is also a lead co-sponsor of the EACH Act, bold legislation to repeal the Hyde Amendment and help guarantee abortion coverage—regardless of how a patient gets their health insurance.
• Shortly before the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, Rep. Pressley led a group of her Black women colleagues in writing to President Biden urging him to declare a public health emergency amid the unprecedented threats to abortion rights nationwide. 
• Rep. Pressley condemned the Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade., and implored the Senate to protect abortion rights and slammed the white supremacist roots of anti-abortion efforts.
• In May 2024, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on a Louisiana bill that would classify medication abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol as controlled substances. 
• In April 2024, at a House Oversight Committee hearing, Rep. Pressley played “Fact or Fiction” with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert Califf to emphasize the safety and efficacy of medication abortion drug mifepristone.
• In August 2023, Rep. Pressley issued a statement on the Fifth Circuit Court decision in Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA.
• In July 2023, Rep. Pressley, alongside Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Cori Bush (MO-01), and Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), reintroduced the Reproductive Health Care Accessibility Act, legislation to help people with disabilities—who face discrimination and extra barriers when seeking care—get better access to reproductive healthcare and the informed care they need to control their own reproductive lives.
• In July 2023, Rep. Pressley applauded the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of over-the-counter birth control.
• In May 2023, Rep. Pressley applauded the FDA Advisory Committee’s unanimous, 17-0 vote to recommend the approval of the first-ever application for over-the-counter birth control. She and Senator Murray also held a press conference applauding the decision and urging the FDA to approval over-the-counter birth control without delay.
• In May 2023, Rep. Pressley, along with Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) and Ami Bera, MD (CA-06) and Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), reintroduced their bicameral Affordability is Access Act to ensure that once the FDA determines an over-the-counter birth control option to be safe, insurers fully cover over-the-counter birth control without any fees or out-of-pocket costs.
• In April 2023, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Texas court ruling on mifepristone, and discussed the Texas case in a recent floor speech in which she affirmed medication abortion as routine medical care and access to mifepristone as essential. She later joined Governor Maura Healey, Senator Elizabth Warren (D-MA), and local leaders in announcing action to protect Mifepristone in Massachusetts.
• In March 2023, Rep. Pressley, along with Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Reps. Schakowsky, Lee, DeGette, Torres and Strickland, reintroduced the Abortion is Healthcare Everywhere Act harmful and discriminatory Helms Amendment and expand abortion access globally.
• In March 2023, Rep. Pressley and Senator Hirono led their colleagues in reintroducing a bicameral congressional resolution honoring abortion providers and clinic staff. 
• In March 2023, Rep. Pressley delivered a speech in which she discussed the pending court case in Texas, which aims to restrict access to medication abortion across the entire nation. In her remarks, Rep. Pressley affirmed medication abortion as routine medical care, and accessibility to the abortion pill mifepristone as essential.
• In September 2021, Rep. Pressley issued a statement condemning the Supreme Court’s inaction on SB-8, Texas’ restrictive abortion law. Later that month, she participated in a House Oversight Committee hearing to examine the threat posed by abortion bans and underscored the urgency of the Senate passing the Women’s Health Protection Act. 
• In April 2021, Rep. Pressley, along with Congresswomen Barbara Lee (CA-13), Diana DeGette (CO-01) and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), led a group of 131 Democratic members in reintroducing the Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance Act or the EACH Act, which would repeal the Hyde Amendment and ensure that all people, regardless of income, insurance or zip code, can make personal reproductive healthcare decisions without interference from politicians. She re-Introduced the legislation In January 2023.
• Rep. Pressley has led calls in Congress for the FDA to remove medically unnecessary restrictions on the medication abortion drug mifepristone, and applauded the FDA’s action in January 2023 to allow retail pharmacies to dispense abortion medication pills.
• As Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus’s Abortion Rights and Access Task Force, Congresswoman Pressley has led the fight to repeal the Hyde Amendments from annual Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies appropriations bills and in July 2020 published a Medium post on the importance of doing so. She applauded the removal of the Hyde Amendment in President Biden’s FY2022 budget.
• In May 2020, she led more than 155 Members of Congress in calling on House Democratic leadership to ensure that any future COVID-19 relief packages rejected Republican efforts to use the public health crisis to diminish abortion access.
• In August 2021, Rep. Pressley, Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, and Pro-Choice Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Diana DeGette and Barbara Lee led more than 70 of their House Democratic colleagues in introducing a resolution in support of equitable, science-based policies governing access to medication abortion care. 
• In January 2023, Rep. Pressley introduced a resolution to condemn all forms of political violence in the U.S., regardless of its target or intent. That same day, she delivered a powerful speech on the House floor slamming Republicans’ harmful, misleading anti-abortion resolution.
• In September 2022, Rep. Pressley hosted U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra at the Codman Square Health Center in Dorchester for a convening on their work to address the Black maternal health crisis and the criminalization of abortion care in states across the nation following the harmful U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. 
• In May 2019, she led more than 100 colleagues in introducing H.Con.Res.40, a resolution reaffirming the House of Representative’s support for Roe v. Wade.
• In June 2019, Rep. Pressley introduced H.R. 3296, the Affordability is Access Act, to make oral contraception available without a prescription. 
• In September 2016, as a member of the Boston City Council, Pressley championed a resolution calling on Congress and President Obama to repeal the Hyde Amendment and reinstate insurance coverage for abortion services.

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