Re: TAMPONS & dioxin

["Jon Campbell" <jon@cqs.com>]

Fred,

       The juxtaposition of "extremely small amounts" and "dioxin" is an
oxymoron. Saying it more simply, if a tampon were to shed a picogram of
dioxin to the woman's body, that would be an extremely significant dose,
especially when localized to the reproductive organs. Dioxin's powerful
toxic quality is due to its hormone-disrupting capability, and the direct
introduction of a hormone disruptor into the reproductive tract is *not a
good idea*.

      By the way, what did you mean by "Alar and apples". Alar, which used
to be used here in Massachusetts to prevent some fungus, showed up in
applesauce as jet fuel (it's the breakdown product of Alar).

Thanks
Jon Campbell
-----Original Message-----
From: Frederick W Stoss <fstoss@acsu.buffalo.edu>
To: Multiple recipients of list DIOXIN-L <dioxin-l@essential.org>
Date: Friday, October 23, 1998 10:34 PM
Subject: RE: TAMPONS & dioxin


>Diane,
>
>You are most certainly correct! The statement should be saved as an
>example of bad scence or bad understanding of science. The amount of
>dioxin that would leachout of a tampon and affect tissue has got to be
>extremely small. The real risk is scratching the vaginal wall when the
>tampon is inserted and then providing an opportunity for bacteria to
>infect. As we know mention the word "dioxin" and you scare the hell out of
>people.
>
>Dioxins and tampons may be akin to Alar and apples.
>
>Fred
>
>Frederick W. Stoss
>Biological Sciences Librarian
>Science and Engineering Library -- Capen Hall -- Room 228-B
>SUNY Buffalo
>Buffalo, NY 14260-2200
>716/645-2946 ext. 224 -- 716/645-3710 FAX
>fstoss@acsu.buffalo.edu
>SEL URL:  http://wings.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/sel/
>
>