Thirty crates containing 554 kilograms of Chinese-made female sanitary pads, also known colloquially as maxi pads, have been confiscated by local authorities in Lebanon after it was discovered the pads contained levels of radiation 35 times the acceptable standard.

The sanitary pads, which arrived at Beirut Rafik Hariri Airport, were to be shipped to stores throughout the country. The potentially-dangerous levels of radioactivity were discovered during a routine scan at the airport. All 30 crates have since been sent to a Lebanese atomic energy organization for further analysis.

The manufacturer, Qiray, has yet to issue a statement explaining why the pads contain such high levels of radiation. The company does claim on its website that the pads contain a “microchip” that uses negative ion technology and releases these special ions during use. The brand name of the pad, Anion, literally means “negative ion”.

Qiray also claim that the negative ion “technology” provides a number of benefits to its users, including bacterial disinfection, and the prevention of unwanted smells.