Bhopal: No mandatory govt standards to limit chemicals’ use

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): As there are no specific guidelines to limit the use of chemicals in sanitary napkins, the high amount of chemicals can cause cancer and many other diseases, a study says.

An NGO from Delhi, Toxics Link, has discovered the presence of phthalates and volatile organic compounds in 10 samples, six inorganic and four organic sanitary pads. The findings were released in a report titled, Menstrual Waste 2022.

According to the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), there is no compulsion for sanitary pad manufacturing companies to mention the ingredients because they are exempted from listing the ingredients as they can label them as 'medical products.'

"We do not intend to discourage use of sanitary pads. We attempt to make women aware so that they should question what goes inside the making of a pad. We also intend to push government and manufacturers to set some standards to limit use of chemicals in manufacturing of sanitary pads," Toxics Link Chief Programme Coordinator, Priti Mahesh, said.

According to Priti, there are no set standards regarding use of chemicals in manufacturing sanitary pads to ensure that pads are safe. “The menstrual hygiene campaign has been launched in our country. Asking women to stop using pads will worsen the situation. All we want is to make people specially women aware of the chemicals and their side effects. We want women to question the government regarding why there is no mandatory guideline to limit the use of chemicals in sanitary pads specially when they used for a very sensitive part of body,” she told Free Press.

Toys and other plastic products contain chemicals, but the government has set standards regarding the quantity used in the product.

There is a strong need for disclosure of ingredients and standards regarding the usage of chemicals in the manufacturing of sanitary pads so that women can make a uniform choice about using and choosing the pad according to their health. After all, the right to information and understanding is for everyone.