I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2379 
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 
MAY 4, 2017 
Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York 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 pro-
gram of research regarding the risks posed by the pres-
ence of dioxin, synthetic fibers, chemical fragrances, and 
other components of feminine hygiene products. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Robin Danielson Femi-
nine Hygiene Product Safety Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
The Congress finds as follows: 
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(1) Feminine hygiene products are widely used 
by women in the United States today, but there is 
not enough research on the components of these 
products. 
(2) Women may be exposed to substances in 
tampons and other menstrual products for as long 
as 60 years over the course of their reproductive 
lives. The average woman may use as many as 
16,800 tampons in her lifetime. A woman on meno-
pausal hormone therapy may use as many as 24,360 
tampons in her lifetime. 
(3) Trace amounts of dioxins can be found in 
tampons or other feminine hygiene products. The 
Environmental Protection Agency and the Inter-
national Agency for Research on Cancer, an arm of 
the World Health Organization, have concluded that 
dioxins are a probable human carcinogen (cancer- 
causing agent). 
(4) The Food and Drug Administration (re-
ferred to in this section as the ‘‘FDA’’) has histori-
cally relied on data provided by manufacturers of 
feminine hygiene products in determining product 
safety. 
(5) Although the FDA currently requires tam-
pon manufacturers to routinely monitor dioxin levels 
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in raw materials and finished tampons, this informa-
tion is not readily available to the public. The FDA 
should consider whether to expand regulation to in-
clude other types of feminine hygiene products and 
a broader list of contaminants. 
SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON DIOXIN AND OTHER POTENTIALLY 
HARMFUL COMPONENTS OF FEMININE HY-
GIENE PRODUCTS. 
Part F of title IV of the Public Health Service Act 
(42 U.S.C. 287d et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 
the following section: 
‘‘SEC. 486C. RESEARCH ON DIOXIN AND OTHER POTEN-
TIALLY HARMFUL COMPONENTS OF FEMI-
NINE HYGIENE PRODUCTS. 
‘‘(a) RESEARCH.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of NIH, in 
collaboration with the Director of the Office, shall 
provide for the conduct or support of research to de-
termine the extent to which the presence of dioxins, 
synthetic fibers, chlorine, and other components (in-
cluding contaminants and substances used as fra-
grances, colorants, dyes, and preservatives) in tam-
pons and other feminine hygiene products— 
‘‘(A) poses any risks to the health of 
women who use the products, including risks re-
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lating to cervical cancer, endometriosis, infer-
tility, ovarian cancer, breast cancer, immune 
system deficiencies, pelvic inflammatory disease, 
toxic shock syndrome, and bacterial and yeast 
infections; and 
‘‘(B) poses any risks to the health of chil-
dren of women who used such products during 
or before the pregnancies involved, including 
risks relating to fetal and childhood develop-
ment. 
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT
REGARDING
DATA
FROM 
MANUFACTURERS.—Research under paragraph (1) 
shall include research to confirm the data on tam-
pons and other feminine hygiene products submitted 
to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs by manu-
facturers of such products. 
‘‘(3) DEFINITION.—For purposes of paragraph 
(1), the term ‘feminine hygiene products’ means 
tampons, pads, liners, cups, sponges, douches, wipes, 
sprays, and similar products used by women with re-
spect to menstruation or other genital-tract secre-
tions. 
‘‘(b) REPORTS.—Reports on the results of research 
under subsection (a) shall be periodically submitted to the 
Congress, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Ad-
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ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and 
the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commis-
sion. Such reports shall be made available to the public 
through the data system and clearinghouse program es-
tablished under section 486A, or through other appro-
priate means. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the 
purpose of carrying out this section, there are authorized 
to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary for 
each of the fiscal years 2018 through 2022.’’. 
Æ 
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