I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1708 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a program of research 

regarding the risks posed by the presence of dioxin, synthetic fibers, 

chemical fragrances, and other components of feminine hygiene products. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 26, 2015 

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York (for herself and Mr. RANGEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a program of research regarding the risks posed by the presence of dioxin, synthetic fibers, chemical fragrances, and 

other components of feminine hygiene products. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Robin Danielson Femi5 nine Hygiene Product Safety Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds as follows: 


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1 (1) Feminine hygiene products are widely used 

2 by women in the United States today, but there is 

3 not enough research on the components of these 

4 products. 

5 (2) Women may be exposed to substances in 

6 tampons and other menstrual products for as long 

7 as 60 years over the course of their reproductive 

8 lives. The average woman may use as many as 

9 16,800 tampons in her lifetime. A woman on meno10 pausal hormone therapy may use as many as 24,360 

11 tampons in her lifetime. 

12 (3) Trace amounts of dioxins can be found in 

13 tampons or other feminine hygiene products. The 

14 Environmental Protection Agency and the Inter15 national Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of 

16 the World Health Organization, have concluded that 

17 dioxins are a probable human carcinogen (cancer18 causing agent). 

19 (4) The Food and Drug Administration (re20 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘FDA’’) has histori21 cally relied on data provided by manufacturers of 

22 feminine hygiene products in determining product 

23 safety. 

24 (5) Although the FDA currently requires tam25 pon manufacturers to routinely monitor dioxin levels 


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1 in raw materials and finished tampons, this informa2 tion is not readily available to the public. The FDA 

3 should consider whether to expand regulation to in4 clude other types of feminine hygiene products and 

5 a broader list of contaminants. 

6 SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON DIOXIN AND OTHER POTENTIALLY 

7 HARMFUL COMPONENTS OF FEMININE HY8 GIENE PRODUCTS. 

9 Part F of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 

10 (42 U.S.C. 287d et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

11 the following section: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 486C. RESEARCH ON DIOXIN AND OTHER POTEN13 TIALLY HARMFUL COMPONENTS OF FEMI14 NINE HYGIENE PRODUCTS. 

15 ‘‘(a) RESEARCH.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of NIH, in 

17 collaboration with the Director of the Office, shall 

18 provide for the conduct or support of research to de19 termine the extent to which the presence of dioxins, 

20 synthetic fibers, chlorine, and other components (in21 cluding contaminants and substances used as fra22 grances, colorants, dyes, and preservatives) in tam23 pons and other feminine hygiene products— 

24 ‘‘(A) poses any risks to the health of 

25 women who use the products, including risks reVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Apr 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708

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1 lating to cervical cancer, endometriosis, infer2 tility, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, immune 

3 system deficiencies, pelvic inflammatory disease, 

4 toxic shock syndrome, and bacterial and yeast 

5 infections; and 

6 ‘‘(B) poses any risks to the health of chil7 dren of women who used such products during 

8 or before the pregnancies involved, including 

9 risks relating to fetal and childhood develop10 ment. 

11 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT REGARDING DATA FROM

12 MANUFACTURERS.—Research under paragraph (1) 

13 shall include research to confirm the data on tam14 pons and other feminine hygiene products submitted 

15 to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs by manu16 facturers of such products. 

17 ‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—For purposes of paragraph 

18 (1), the term ‘feminine hygiene products’ means 

19 tampons, pads, liners, cups, sponges, douches, wipes, 

20 sprays, and similar products used by women with re21 spect to menstruation or other genital-tract secre22 tions. 

23 ‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Reports on the results of research 

24 under subsection (a) shall be periodically submitted to the 

25 Congress, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the AdVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:33 Apr 03, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1708.IH H1708

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1 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and 

2 the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commis3 sion. Such reports shall be made available to the public 

4 through the data system and clearinghouse program es5 tablished under section 486A, or through other appro6 priate means. 

7 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 

8 purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 

9 to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for 

10 each of the fiscal years 2016 through 2020.’’. 

Æ 


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