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) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy 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 2015’’. 
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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