Simon Nare
Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said on Sunday that sanitary pads and panty-liners need not be withdrawn from the market after a University of the Free State (UFS) study found small quantities of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in tested samples.
He said at a press briefing that the findings did not prove clinical harm and did not support any change in how consumers use the products.
The UFS analytical chemistry study published on 25 February tested 16 sanitary pads and seven panty-liners bought online. Researchers detected small amounts of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the samples, and said menstrual products may be a significant but often overlooked source of exposure to these chemicals.
Motsoaledi said the departments of Health and Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities had consulted scientists, clinicians, regulators and United Nations agencies, including the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Population Fund, about the findings.
“The statement I am reading today is on behalf of all these bodies/institutions,” he said.
He said the key conclusion of those consultations was that the presence of EDCs in menstrual products was not new and that available studies had not shown clinical harm.
He said 20 publications had been produced over the years about EDC’S in sanitary pads, and all 20 “have not demonstrated any inference of clinical harm”.
Motsoaledi said the chemicals were present in a wide range of everyday products and environments.
“The most important take home message for today is that it is ubiquitous. This means that they are present, appearing, or found everywhere,” he said.
He said scientists had known about the presence of EDCs for decades, and that experts concluded that the potential risk remained theoretical and that concentrations found in menstrual products were very low.
“EDC’S in sanitary pads do not translate into harm in the human body,” he said.
He said exposure to EDCs was higher in some men than in women because of occupational exposure.
Motsoaledi said regulators had found no basis for withdrawing the products.
He said the WHO had not identified evidence of harm from the products.
“[S]ince the chemicals have been known globally for many years, WHO has been looking for any evidence of harm over the years, but to date, never found any harm from these products.”
Motsoaledi also cited UFS’s own caution that the study was not designed to establish a direct causal relationship between the detected chemicals and disease in women, and the research findings and their publication were not intended to constitute medical advice.
“[R]ather, the study presents peer-reviewed scientific data and identifies areas that need to be researched further.”
Motsoaledi said regulators would continue with surveillance and consumer protection while scientists pursued further research.
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