Title: Robin Danielson Feminine Hygiene Product Safety Act of 2017
Policy area: Health

Summary:
Robin Danielson Feminine Hygiene Product Safety Act of 2017
This bill amends the Public Health Service Act to require the National Institutes of Health to conduct or support research on the extent to which components (including contaminants and substances used as fragrances, colorants, dyes, and preservatives) in feminine hygiene products pose health risks to women who use the products or to the children of women who use the products during or before pregnancy.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2379 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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 program of 
research regarding the risks posed by the presence of dioxin, synthetic 
 fibers, chemical fragrances, and other components of feminine hygiene 
                               products.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Robin Danielson Feminine Hygiene 
Product Safety Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds as follows:
            (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 menopausal 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 International 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 (referred to in this 
        section as the ``FDA'') has historically relied on data 
        provided by manufacturers of feminine hygiene products in 
        determining product safety.
            (5) Although the FDA currently requires tampon 
        manufacturers to routinely monitor dioxin levels in raw 
        materials and finished tampons, this information is not readily 
        available to the public. The FDA should consider whether to 
        expand regulation to include other types of feminine hygiene 
        products and a broader list of contaminants.

SEC. 3. RESEARCH ON DIOXIN AND OTHER POTENTIALLY HARMFUL COMPONENTS OF 
              FEMININE HYGIENE 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 POTENTIALLY HARMFUL 
              COMPONENTS OF FEMININE 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 determine the extent to which the 
        presence of dioxins, synthetic fibers, chlorine, and other 
        components (including contaminants and substances used as 
        fragrances, colorants, dyes, and preservatives) in tampons and 
        other feminine hygiene products--
                    ``(A) poses any risks to the health of women who 
                use the products, including risks relating to cervical 
                cancer, endometriosis, infertility, 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 children of 
                women who used such products during or before the 
                pregnancies involved, including risks relating to fetal 
                and childhood development.
            ``(2) Requirement regarding data from manufacturers.--
        Research under paragraph (1) shall include research to confirm 
        the data on tampons and other feminine hygiene products 
        submitted to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs by 
        manufacturers 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 respect to menstruation or other genital-tract 
        secretions.
    ``(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 Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
Agency, and the Chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. 
Such reports shall be made available to the public through the data 
system and clearinghouse program established under section 486A, or 
through other appropriate 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.''.
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