British Men are Less Fertile Than Hamsters By Geoffrey Lean and Richard Sadler Sperm counts are falling dramatically across Britain and the rest of industrialized world, and scientists are increasingly convinced that pollution is to blame. Studies around the world have shown that average sperm counts in men have dropped by more than half over the past 50 years - from about 160 million per milliliter of semen to 66 million. The Medical Research Council reports that the fertility of Scottish men born since 1970 was 25 percent less than those born in the 1950s, with sperm counts continuing to drop by two percent a year. Other research by the US Government's Environmental Protection Agency shows that, proportionately, a man now produce only about a third as much sperm as a hamster. Scientists increasingly blame a whole class of hormone-disrupting chemicals. Evidence suggests that they cause cancer and damage the immune system, as well as impairing fertility. And they are ever more ubiquitous. DDT and other pesticides disrupt hormones, as do PCBs, used in countless products worldwide, from plastics and paint to electrical equipment. Other components of plastics have been found to leach hormone-disrupters including phthalates, which have been found in a wide range of foods including baby milk. Artificial estrogens, used in contraceptive pills and emitted through sewage works, appear to be changing the sex of half the fish in Britain's lowland rivers. Scientists and environmentalists fear that the powerful chemicals are getting into drinking water and affecting human fertility. One third of Britain's drinking water comes from rivers; most of it is taken from below sewage works. But some scientists say that the chemicals may not have been detected, because there is no routine testing for them in drinking water, and because the equipment used in Britain is not sensitive enough. Research at the University of Ulm, in West Germany, using more sophisticated techniques, found small amounts in four out of every 10 samples tested. And environmentalists fear that effects in people may occur over much longer periods than those used to test the fish. Unlike in fish, it is going to take 20 years to see if my children have been affected by developmental exposure to this same cocktail of chemicals. Independent.co.uk March 17, 2002 __________________________________________________
Oops.. We already beat that one up, Banshee. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! http://www.sciforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=6290 Peace.
Hmm, well I guess that makes me happy that I don't live in the UK anymore and have no intention of returning. Although I do have concern for my family there. But I wonder if anything is any differnt here in California. I'd like to see a more comprehensive worldwide study since the Brits use the same science that is used everywhere else. Thanks for the article. Cris
I always suspected there was something terribly wrong with that country and its meekish inhabitants. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
there is an old saying in britain, if the cars a rockin dont come a knockin, and a lot of cars rock here, plus dont laugh at my car your daughter might be inside get it she did.Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
