Chemical products that pose a threat to male health

[3 June 2009 - 09h16]
[mis à jour le 3 June 2009 à 16h16]

Traces of pesticides in our food, chemical components in plastic packaging, beauty products… We are constantly exposed to toxic substances. For women, especially during pregnancy, this exposure can have a dramatic impact: it can affect the unborn child’s genital organs, particularly if the child is a boy.

It is high time that the health authorities take this fact on board and stop protecting manufacturers, states British NGO Chem Trust which has published a damning report on the subject. The author of the report, Professor Richard Sharpe of the British Medical Research Council, is a world authority on reproductive biology.

And Professor Sharpe is clear: the increase in dysfunctions of the male reproductive organs, such as testicular cancer and the decreased sperm fertility observed in recent decades, is directly linked to chemical pollution. The principal culprits are phthalates, parabens and other bisphenols found in numerous commonly consumed products. But not just in those. In diesel, DDT and all kinds of pesticides … the list Professor Sharpe has drawn up is a very long one.

As for why scientists are reluctant to point the finger squarely at any particular substance… he suggests that a form of “co-toxicity” exists that muddies the waters somewhat… and increases the risks. We need to understand that all these toxic products act together. It is their interaction that is so dangerous for our body.

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