Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday banning the sale of tampons and other menstrual products in California that contain certain levels of potentially toxic chemicals.
The law would ban by 2025 the manufacture and sale of menstrual products containing intentionally added perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS. If such products contain unintentionally added PFAS, the law requires that by 2027, manufacturers keep them below a level to be determined by the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
The law also allows fines to be imposed on those who violate the ban.
These chemicals can help make the material in tampons and pads more absorbent, but advocates argue they can be replaced with safer substances.
Rep. Diane Papan (D-San Mateo), author of the bill, called the legislation “a huge step forward for women’s health.” PFAS have been present for decades in a variety of consumer products, including cosmetics, cleaning products, nonstick cookware, drinking water, and artificial turf.
“This particular use – because it is so intimate and affects 50% of the population for a very significant part of their lives – was very urgent,” Papan said. “These are very dangerous chemicals. Can you believe that in 2024 women have to sit here and fight for this? This blows my mind.
Exposure to PFAS, often called forever chemicals due to their indestructibility, has been linked to kidney and testicular cancer, increased cholesterol, changes in liver function, hypertension and preeclampsia during pregnancy, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This is not the first time the issue has been raised in California. A similar bill also authored by Papan garnered bipartisan support in the Legislature, but was vetoed by Newsom last year. The governor at the time said he “strongly supports” the intent of the bill. In his veto message, he ordered the Department of Toxic Substances Control to work with Papan.
“Previously enacted chemical bans, which also lack oversight, are proving difficult to implement, with inconsistent interpretations and confusion among manufacturers on how to comply with the restrictions,” he wrote in his veto message.
The California law comes amid heightened concerns nationwide about the contents of feminine hygiene products.
A consumer study released in 2022 by watchdog group Mamavation in partnership with Environmental Health News found that 22% of 23 tampon brands lab-tested contained indications of PFAS. Of the 46 sanitary napkins and panty liners tested, 48% had indications of PFAS, according to the study.
In June, Vermont became the first state to ban these chemicals in tampons and sanitary napkins.
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 forever chemicals in cosmetics, clothing, food packaging, cribs and firefighting foam.
“We think it’s particularly inappropriate for menstrual products, because these are products used in some of the most sensitive and absorbent parts of the body,” she said.
Yet concerns about other ingredients persist.
In July, a study by researchers at Columbia University, UC Berkeley and Michigan State University found 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 this month to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration asking the agency to address safety concerns about tampon ingredients and their potential effects on health.
“Women use approximately 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.
