Chemical characterization of menstrual and intimate care products: An extractables & leachables investigation

Overview

Marcelis et al. developed an extractables-and-leachables workflow for 64 menstrual and intimate care products (MICPs), including tampons, menstrual pads, menstrual cups, adult novelties, Kegel-exercise devices, and menstrual sea sponges. The paper reports organic leachables and a pilot ICP-MS/MS metal/metalloid leaching table under simulated-use conditions. Metal values are reported in the leachate in ppb; arsenic, chromium, tin, and mercury are total-element measurements, not speciated forms.

Key numbers

The full product set was 64 MICPs: tampons (n = 9), menstrual pads (n = 6), adult novelties (n = 15), menstrual cups (n = 15), Kegel-exercise devices (n = 14), and menstrual sea sponges (n = 5). The metal/metalloid pilot used five samples from each product category; tampons and menstrual pads were not carried into the Table 6 metal-leaching quantification because preliminary experiments showed no significant leaching of metal concentrations.

Table 6 reports inorganic chemicals leaching from menstrual and intimate care products, expressed in ppb. Category-level maxima from the table were:

For menstrual sea sponges, the table also reports maximum leachable Li 2.6 ppb, Mn 117.2 ppb, Fe 4930 ppb, Co 28 ppb, Cu 22.4 ppb, Zn 95.9 ppb, Se 7.1 ppb, and Ba 9.8 ppb. The narrative highlights one sea sponge with aluminum (Al) 1661.8 ppb, Fe 4930 ppb, and nickel (Ni) 1850.2 ppb, and states that natural-product origin and marine-pollutant exposure likely contributed to the variability.

For adult novelties, Table 6 shows maximum leachable Li 15.1 ppb, Mn 1.1 ppb, Cu 1.9 ppb, Zn 122.7 ppb, total arsenic (tAs) 0.1 ppb, cadmium (Cd) 0.8 ppb, Ba 3.2 ppb, lead (Pb) 17.7 ppb, and tin (Sn) 2159.1 ppb, with the other listed metals below the lower limit of quantification. For menstrual cups, the table shows measurable Pb in multiple samples, reaching 32.9 ppb, and Sn reaching 238.6 ppb. For Kegel-exercise devices, leachable metals were mostly below quantification, with Al up to 504.7 ppb, chromium (Cr) up to 1 ppb, Ba up to 2.4 ppb, Pb up to 1.5 ppb, and Sn up to 0.4 ppb.

The abstract states that menstrual sea sponges had the highest levels of metal/metalloid leaching, listing Nickel, Cadmium, Antimony, and Mercury values of 1850, 1.0, 0.3, and 0.6 “ppm.” The body Table 6 title states that inorganic leachables are expressed in ppb; this page uses the Table 6 ppb basis and records the abstract/body unit inconsistency for audit.

Table 5 reports 19 organic leachables under in-use conditions, while 36 of the 55 extractable chemicals were not detected in the leachables assessment. Organic maximums included heliotropine 28.22 µg/g, di-n-octyl phthalate 100 ppb, triethyl citrate 18 ppm, and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol 0.24 ppm; these are organic-chemical context, not metal occurrence values.

Methods (brief)

The study aligned with ISO 10993 extractables/leachables concepts. Exaggerated extractables testing used 24 h extraction at 37 °C with headspace GC-MS, GC-MS, LC-MS, and ICP-MS to identify potential constituents. Simulated-use leachables testing used vaginal- and menstrual-fluid simulants at 37 °C: 1 h for adult novelties and Kegel-exercise devices, and 4 h and 8 h for menstrual products such as tampons, menstrual pads, and menstrual cups. The inorganic leachables table used ICP-MS/MS with external calibration in matrix-matched standards; NIST SRM 1568b was used as a certified reference material. The Table 6 As (O2) label denotes the ICP-MS/MS oxygen mode used for arsenic measurement, not an arsenic species.

Implications

Microbiome: Not applicable.

Related evidence

• Menstrual tampons (scented/unscented; applicator tested as distinct component)
• Menstrual pads (disposable, panty liners, intralabial pads, reusable menstrual pads)
• Menstrual cups (silicone/latex/other polymers)
• Other menstrual/intimate products (case-by-case)
• Aluminum
• Chromium
• Nickel
• Arsenic, Total
• Cadmium
• Antimony
• Lead
• Tin
• Mercury, Total

Update history

The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git.