South Korea to Risk Assess Hundreds of Sanitary Pads
Chemical Watch
Sunny Lee
September 7, 2017
“KWEN tested ten menstruation pads and found that all contained toxic substances in varying quantities. All 22 VOCs were found in one product or another.
The ministry, however, has been critical of KWEN’s tests. It argues that the presence of dangerous compounds does not prove an actual effect on human health. Risk assessment is required to do this, it says.
The MFDS, however, has decided to assess many more substances than the NGO tested for.
KWEN’s initiative was inspired by the US-based campaign group Women’s Voices for the Earth, which produced a report on VOCs emission tests on P&G sanitary pads in 2014. The South Korean NGO tested products from a number of manufacturers including Yuhan-Kimberly, P&G, LG Unicharm and several domestic producers.”
