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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 5, 1998)
Health ^ews I I Material in tampons may be toxic Many tampons are made with rayon, which contains the harmful substance dioxin By Kari Thorene Higher Education Reporter The estimated 70 percent of menstruating women in North America who use tampons may be increasing their chances of having health problems, ranging from en dometriosis to cancer, every time they have their period. That’s because some of contents in many brands of tampons—ray on and chlorine-bleached cotton — contain a poisonous substance called dioxin. According to Greenpeace, diox in is "the most toxic synthetic sub stance ever studied,” with related health impacts for women includ ing endometriosis, ovarian dys function, decreased fertility, in ability to maintain pregnancy and hormonal changes. Dioxin damages health through continuous and repeated expo sure because it accumulates in fat ty tissues and breaks down slowly. Tampons, therefore, pose a double risk: Women use them on a regular basis over a long period of time, and tampons come in direct con tact with a mucous membrane. Dioxin and other organochlo rines (which includes the large group of chemical compounds classified as “any organic com pound with a chloride”) get into tampons in two ways: through the production of rayon, which is used as the main substance in some tampons and in others as a rayon-cotton blend, and through some bleaching processes. I I I Alternatives to bleached and rayon tampons: ■ CLOTH PADS: essentially reusable organic cotton pads. Price ranges from $20-30 for a set of three; they are supposed to last for five years. Glad Rags [Phone 1 -800-799 4523] Many Moons [14-130 Dallas Rd. Victoria, 8CV8V1 A3] ■ THE KEEPERS: a gum rubber receptacle cup for menstrual fluid. It looks like a diaphragm and is supposed to last for 10 years. Price is approximately $35. The Keeper [PO Box 20023, Cincinnati, OH 45220] ■ CHLORINE-FREE DISPOSABLE PADS: Seventh Generation [Phone 1 800-456-1177] Today’s Choice [Phone 1-800 262-0042] ■ NON-CHLORINE BLEACHED COTTON TAMPONS: Natracare [191 University Blvd. Suite 219 Denver, CO 80206] Bio Business International Terre Femme tampons [178 Halam St. Toronto, Ontario Canada M6H 1W8] ■ WHERE TO BUY IN EUGENE: The Kiva, 125 West 11th St. (Na tracare tampons, Lotus Pads) Sundance Natural Foods, 748 E. 24th St. (Lotus Pads) Down to Earth Home and Gar den, 532 Olive St. (Glad Rags) Rayon is a highly absorbent syn thetic substance used by all of the major tampon brands. Chlorine is used in the production of rayon. Tambrands tampons, the leading tampon manufacturer that makes the many varieties of Tampax and Tampax Naturals, uses combina tions of rayon and cotton blends, said Brandi Bultman, Tampax Tam pons consumer relations specialist. The second way dioxin be comes a part of a tampon is through chlorine bleaching. Chlo rine atoms join with other organic substances during bleaching to create a whole host of organochlo rines, including the deadly diox in, Toxicologist Roseanne Loren zana of the Environmental Protection Agency said. ‘‘We’re conditioned to believe that white [feminine hygiene product] is good,” said Alice Grange, the Tissue Issue campaign coordinator of the Vancouver B.C. consumer group Reach for Un bleached. “It’s not. It’s very toxic.” All Tampax tampons — includ ing Tampax Naturals — are bleached, Bultman said. “Bleaching is an essential part of the process,” she said because it makes the cotton and rayon “more pure and absorbent.” But this ambiguity about tam pon material is not unique to Tarn brands. “It’s hard to generalize that all tampons have dioxins in them,”Lorenzana said. She added that manufacturers of feminine hy giene products may use any of the bleaching processes but are not re quired to disclose them on product boxes. 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