Plastic Additives in Single-Use and Reusable Menstrual Products: Potential Implications for Human Health and the Environment

Menstrual products are essential for half of the world's population during menstruation, but recent studies have found that these products can contain chemicals of concern for human health. The present study detected three classes of plastic additives, phthalates (PAEs), organophosphate esters (OPEs), and alternative plasticizers (APs) in both single-use (sanitary pads, panty liners, and tampons) and reusable (reusable sanitary pads, menstrual underwear, and menstrual cups) menstrual products. Concentrations were between < LOD-42193 ng/g, < LOD-4068 ng/g, and 95.6-13857 ng/g for PAEs, OPEs, and APs, respectively. EDI calculations showed that dermal contact with some menstrual products might be a significant exposure pathway (0.00-3105 ng/kg bw/day for PAEs; 0.00-237 ng/kg bw/day for OPEs; 0.01-7140 ng/kg bw/day for APs, depending on the product). Additionally, risk assessment calculations showed that using some of these products might pose a risk to human health (cancer risk estimates > 10^-6). However, these calculations were based on a worst-case scenario, assuming 100% dermal uptake, which might not reflect real-life situations. Environmental impact calculations showed that menstrual products might contribute to the release of plastic additives into the environment once these products enter the waste cycle or are washed to be reused.