Forever Chemicals in Panty Liners: Vineet Dubey Files Lawsuit to Protect Women’s Health

On the same day that California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law banning forever chemicals from tampons and menstruation pads, Vineet Dubey filed a lawsuit under the state’s consumer protection statutes against the makers of Carefree panty liners after an independent lab test discovered the presence of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA).

The Dangers of PFOA in Panty Liners

Millions of women use Carefree panty liners, which is one of the top brands in the nation. Although not included in the new California law, the discovery of forever chemicals in panty liners reinforces growing evidence that women’s hygiene products are potentially rife with chemicals that can disrupt hormones, impair fertility and are known to cause cancer.

And PFAS/PFOA chemicals accumulate and remain in a person’s body for a lifetime. Although the new law does not apply to products currently on the shelves, it aids his client’s argument, Dubey told the Los Angeles Daily Journal. “It’s a great bill and I’m glad (Newsom) signed it,” Dubey said. “In front of the judge I’ll be able to point at the law: The state legislature recognizes this is a huge and dangerous problem. The governor recognizes this is a huge and dangerous problem. What we’re trying to do is help people now, keep people safe now.”

The Importance of Educating the Public

In addition to broad coverage in legal and environmental outlets, such as Bloomberg Law, Law360, Yahoo! News and Green Matters, a short news story by FoxLA 11 has already racked up 13.6 million views on TikTok, with 700,000 likes, demonstrating just how important the issue is to women.

“PFOA is a known reproductive toxin and no amount is considered safe,” Dubey said. “This is a matter of public health. This synthetic chemical accumulates over time in the human body, leading to adverse reproductive effects such as decreased fertility and hormone interference. Additionally, it can increase hypertension in pregnant women. Women use this product for 8 to 10 hours at a time, which results in continuous exposure to PFOA, potentially on a daily basis.” This is why California consumer protection laws prohibit any presence of any PFOA in products sold within the state.

Potential Risks of PFOA

Exposure to PFOA increases the risk of children being born with low birth weight and experiencing developmental delays throughout their lives. It can also raise the likelihood of developing kidney, prostate or testicular cancer. “Nationally, there is growing awareness and scrutiny of personal care products containing PFOA and other PFAS,” Dubey said. “Carefree manufactures its products in the USA, and consumers might expect a successful, American-made product to meet, if not exceed, the most stringent health and safety standards. However, as this lawsuit demonstrates, even domestically made products can pose significant risks to consumers when harmful chemicals like PFOA are present.

Fox 11: https://www.yahoo.com/news/carefree-panty-liners-contain-cancer-235004815.html

Bloomberg Law: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/environmental-group-sues-over-pfas-in-carefree-menstrual-liners

Green Matters: https://www.greenmatters.com/news/carefree-pantyliner-lawsuit

KNX 97.1: https://www.audacy.com/knxnews/news/national/carefree-panty-liners-contain-dangerous-chemical-lawsuit