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Common feminine care products used by millions of women are laced with hazardous chemicals including carcinogens, toxins and endocrine disruptors, a new report reveals.

Entitled
Chem Fatale, the report released Wednesday from Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE), an organization advocating “a toxic-free future for all,” highlights how current regulations covering the $3 billion industry are putting public health in jeopardy, and provides increasing evidence of the ubiquity of toxins in our everyday lives.

“The chemicals used in these products are a real concern given the inevitable exposure to sensitive and absorptive vulvar and vaginal tissue,” stated Dr. Ami Zota, a professor of occupational and environmental health at George Washington University, in a media release.

Among the products the report scrutinized are tampons and menstrual pads-products the report says are used by 70-85 percent of women.

Using them exposes women to pesticide residues, dioxins and furans, unknown fragrance chemicals and allergens. Potential hazards of exposure to them include reproductive harm, cancer and endocrine disruption.