The Danish study on declining sperm
counts worldwide has finally been
challenged. It had to be. Two articles
have just been published in the journal
Fertility and Sterility which show that
men in several us cities might have more
sperm today than men 20 years ago.
The alarm about sperm counts was
first sounded by Copenhagen -based scientist, Niels Skakkebaek's study (1992).
He had argued that papers published
from 1932 to 1991 showed that the average sperm count had declined from
1,130,000 per millilitre (ml) to 660,000
per ml. To quote Theo Colborn, senior
scientist at the Worldwide Fund for
Nature-USA, the scepticism over
Skakkebaek's findings was similar to the
disbelief at the first news in 1985, that a
dramatic hole had opened in the earth's
protective ozone layer over Antarctica.
But these new studies will definitely
be used by critics of Theo Colborn's
own book, Our Stolen Future, which has
just been published in the us and has
received both bouquets and brickbats.
While Al Gore, in the Foreword to the
book, compares it to the 1992 classic,
Silent Spring, by Rachel Carson, an article in the Washington Post describes it as
"Hormones and humbug: a new expose
is one part pseudo-science, two parts
hype and three parts hysteria".
But without being unscientific, as I
am a firm believer in the Precautionary
Principle, I believe that the concerns
raised in Our Stolen Future are valid and
need urgent attention - worldwide.
What does the book say? It says that the
chemicals and plastics in common use
may be having an insidious effect on the
human body - not just causing cancer
but also affecting the hormonal system,
damaging the reproductive system,
affecting foetuses and, thus, the future
generations, increasing childhood
hyperactivity and leading perhaps to a
decline in intelligence. The book identifies 51 such chemicals, terming them as
endocrine disrupters. Among them are
such ubiquitous ones as Bisphenol-A,
which leaches from polycarbonate water
jugs and plastic linings of food cans;
nonyphenol, which is added to Pvc
plastic and is also a breakdown product
of industrial detergents and pesticides;
polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBS), which
are found in electric transformers; dioxins, which are a near-ubiquitous
byproduct of combustion, including
waste incineration; and vinclozolin,
which is a common fungicide that
can reach humans as a pesticide residue
in food.
The book's theory, is based mostly
on animals, especially in polluted water-bodies. In 1947, ornithologists noticed
that eagles in Florida had lost their drive
to mate and nest. In 1977, female gulls
in California were found to be nesting
with female gulls. In the '80s, alligators
in Florida's Lake Apopka were turning
up with shrunken penises. In the last
instance, apparently, large quantities of
the pesticide dicofol had been accidentally released into the lake in 1980.
Dicofol is a close relative Of DDT and one
of its breakdown products, called DDE,
can act like the female hormone estrogen. Scientists agree that several chemicals now present in our air, water and
food supply can mimic estrogen, or
block the effects of the masculinising
hormone androgen. In some animals
these chemicals have caused gender
bending effects on foetuses.
Some human studies are also disturbing. Laboratory experiments indicate that breakdown products of certain
plastics, including some used to store
food, can speed the growth of cultured
breast cells, much like estrogen. Therefore, the question is: can these chemicals
enhance breast cancer? Some studies
have also suggested that children of
women exposed to PCBS may score slightly lower in IQ tests than other children.
The chemicals industry in the us is
really worried by the book. The scientific evidence it cites to contradict the
book is ambiguous. But the idea that
our hormones are under siege and
that the spectre of a global epidemi,- of
damaged reproductory systems is looming large has rightly struck a chord with
the us public. When the Chemical Manufacturers Association contacted
the American Crop Protection Association, representing major pesticide
manufacturers, the latter declined to
take the lead in criticising the book.
The Clinton administration seems
to be listening. The National Academy
of Sciences is putting out a study on
endocrine disrupters in 1997. The
Environment Protection Agency is
proposing changes in the way chemicals
are tested for safety, to include expanded testing for their impact on the reproductive organs of animals.
So what should you do, if you can?
Stop microwaving food in plastic containers. Think twice before breast feeding
because pesticides tend to accumulate in
breast tissues. And if you drink bottled
water, take it from glass bottles. That is
ho@v Pervasive the threat is, if true.
. And don't listen to the typical tripe
frOm Indian scientists and officials that
India's consumption and production of
toxic substances per capita is zilch compared to Western countries. This is utter scientific nonsense trotted out to make
-you apathetic. It is the exposure levels
that matter, which can be very high in
India, because of, among other causes,
high pesticide residues in our food and
low quality of drinking water. Despite
the low consumption of pesticides on a
per capita basis people in Delhi have,
nonetheless, revealed the world's highest level Of DDT in human body-fat, and
high levels of pesticides have been found
in mother's milk in India.
So? Think twice before you cat
or drink?
We are a voice to you; you have been a support to us. Together we build journalism that is independent, credible and fearless. You can further help us by making a donation. This will mean a lot for our ability to bring you news, perspectives and analysis from the ground so that we can make change together.
Comments are moderated and will be published only after the site moderator’s approval. Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name. Selected comments may also be used in the ‘Letters’ section of the Down To Earth print edition.