The consumer watchdog site Mamavation has found that 14% of condoms and a quarter of personal lubricants it tested contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have been linked to a wide range of health issues. For its analysis of 29 popular condom and lubricant brands, Mamavation used its own lab that it said is certified by the US Environmental Protection Agency, and found PFAS levels above 10 parts per million in many products (ppm).
Three out of 25 condoms had detectable levels of organic fluorine above 10ppm and one out of four lubricants. The analysis showed that the organic fluorine in these products, which is a marker of PFAS, ranged from 13ppm to 68ppm. ‘From our vantage point, it looks as if the condom and lubricant industry may have some contamination issues from manufacturing, which is commonplace in other industries,’ Mamavation stated.
The study was released in partnership with Environmental Health News and was reviewed by Terrence Collins, a chemistry professor who directs the Institute for Green Science at Carnegie Mellon University, Linda Birnbaum, former director of the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and National Toxicology Program, and Scott Belcher, an environmental toxicologist at North Carolina State University.
‘Because condoms are an exposure to the most sensitive areas on the human body for both men and women, I would strongly recommend the industry identify and remove these chemicals immediately,’ Birnbaum said. She noted that the vagina and penis are ‘incredibly vascular areas’ and dermal exposure to these regions are often higher than other places of the body.
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