Sperm Counts Sunk by Nonstick Chemicals

Sperm Counts Sunk by Nonstick Chemicals
Study: Men with high blood levels of chemicals used for nonstick coating have lower sperm counts.
Avoid anything advertised as “nonstick,” and engage in other healthy behaviors to boost sperm counts.
Coming up short: Men who are exposed to nonstick chemicals may end up with lower sperm counts, a new study suggests.
By Emily Main Topics
05-13-09

http://www.rodale.com/male-infertility-and-nonstick-chemicals?cm_mmc=DailyNewsNL-_-2009_05_13-_-Top5-_-NA

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Teflon, Gore-Tex, and all the other finishes that keep water from sticking to our raincoats and food from sticking to our pans may be suppressing men’s sperm counts, suggests a new study. Many of these coatings are manufactured with chemicals called perfluoroalkyl acids, (PFAAs), the two most common of which are perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS). A new study published in Environmental Health Perspectives adds credence to the possibility that these modern conveniences are making it harder to make babies.
THE DETAILS: Danish researchers analyzed semen samples from 105 men, average age 19, for the presence of 10 PFAA chemicals, including PFOA and PFOS, and sperm quality. These chemicals were found in all the samples, but the men with high levels of PFOS and PFOA had half the number of normal sperm of the men with lower levels. This study was only a small sampling, and the authors write that a larger study needs to be done in order to validate their findings.
As we reported last month, another recent study found that women with the highest levels of these chemicals in their blood took longer to become pregnant. A few years ago, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection found high levels of PFOA and PFOS in public drinking water supplies, even though there wasn’t an obvious contamination source, such as a chemical manufacturing plant, nearby. The good news: 3M, the only U.S. manufacturer of PFOS, stopped making it in 2005, and 3M scientists claim they’re already seeing a reduction in environmental PFOS levels. Earlier this month the international Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants proposed a worldwide ban on it. Manufacturers of PFOA are phasing out production of that chemical as well; they’ll cut production by 95 percent next year and stop producing it
entirely by 2015.

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