Lead, arsenic, other heavy metals in tampons prompt FDA investigation [Video]

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that it will examine the potential harm to women of heavy metals such as lead and arsenic found in tampons.The FDA’s action follows the July publication of a small pilot study that found arsenic and lead in organic and nonorganic tampons. Although the levels of both metals were low, there is no safe level of exposure to lead, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.The July study discovered only the presence of the metals and “did not test whether metals are released from tampons when used,” the FDA said in a statement Tuesday. “It also did not test for metals being released, absorbed into the vaginal lining, and getting into the bloodstream during tampon use. The FDA has therefore commissioned an independent literature review and initiated an internal bench laboratory study to evaluate metals in tampons.”The FDA lab study will mimic normal …