Tampon Class Action Lawsuit Over Lead Contamination Cleared To Move Forward

Judge allows most claims in California class action against Procter & Gamble to proceed over toxic levels of lead in tampons.

Procter & Gamble must face a class action lawsuit filed by a California woman involving allegations that certain kinds of tampons contain dangerous amounts of lead, which could be absorbed directly into women’s bloodstreams, potentially leading to a host of adverse health effects.

The complaint (PDF) was originally brought by Allison Barton in July 2024, naming The Procter & Gamble Company as the only defendant. Barton subsequently filed additional amended complaints, adding allegations regarding the specific amounts of toxic lead present in different tampon products manufactured by the company.

Lead is a kind of heavy metal, which is known to cause various adverse health effects, including high blood pressure, kidney damage and reproductive problems. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), no level of lead in the human body is considered safe for the human body.

Despite this danger, a number of independent and government reports have found lead and other heavy metals to be present in various products in recent years, including tampons, e-cigarettes, soft drinks and even baby food.

Lead in baby food has increased concerns for many parents, as the heavy metal is known to cause developmental delays, learning disabilities and other behavioral issues in children. Due to these dangers, numerous toxic baby food lawsuits have been filed nationwide against major manufacturers, including Gerber, Beech-Nut Nutrition, Plum, Hain, Campbell, Walmart, Sprout and others.

In her complaint, Barton alleged that certain Tampax Pearl tampons manufactured by Procter & Gamble contain unsafe amounts of lead. She bases this assertion on independent laboratory testing, showing the products expose users to more than 0.5 micrograms of lead per day, which is the Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) of lead under California’s Proposition 65.

According to independent lab tests cited in Barton’s lawsuit, lead levels in individual Tampax Pearl tampons range from 0.243 micrograms in Pearl Light to 0.787 micrograms in Pearl Ultra.

However, Barton points out that Procter & Gamble’s own advertising suggests most consumers use three to six tampons per day. In this case, women would be exposed to a minimum of between 0.729 and 2.36 micrograms of lead daily, which are amounts that Barton argues exceed California Proposition 65’s MADL, legally requiring a clear warning label.

In addition, the lawsuit asserts that since tampons are inserted vaginally, any lead they contain could bypass the digestive system and enter the bloodstream directly, posing a greater risk than ingestion through food.

As a result of these findings, Barton states that the tampon labels offer false and misleading claims of safety and purity, which she suggests are designed only to increase sales and have no relationship to the products’ actual ingredients.

“Reasonable consumers who purchase Defendant’s Products bearing the label representations—and without any disclosure that the Products contain lead—are misled and deceived.”

–Allison Barton v. The Procter & Gamble Company

Barton raises allegations of unfair and unlawful business acts and practices, deceptive advertising practices, and violation of the California consumer legal remedies act. She is seeking class action certification of her complaint for all California consumers who purchased the tampon products, in addition to injunctive relief.

Lead in Tampons August 2025 Update

Procter & Gamble filed a motion to dismiss (PDF) Barton’s lawsuit in April, based on claims of Barton’s alleged failure to state a claim.

In an order (PDF) issued on August 8, U.S. District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel of the Southern District of California granted only part of Procter & Gamble’s motion, rejecting Barton’s claims that Procter & Gamble was liable under California’s unfair competition law, but allowing the other claims to stand.

The day after Barton filed her original complaint against Procter & Gamble, she brought a separate complaint (PDF) against the Kimberly-Clark Corporation in the Southern District of California, over similar alleged lead levels in that company’s U by Kotex Click compact tampons. This litigation is also still ongoing.

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