Infertility, and worse, lurking in polluted air
Thursday, 23 April 2009
The findings of two separate research studies in the Indian state of West Bengal, claiming that pollutants in the air are linked to a fall in male fertility as well as congenital malformations or premature births among women, simply confirm what many had feared for long. Hundreds of thousands of toxins have been, and continue to be, released into the air, water and soil of this earth. Dogged researchers have so far managed to document the health effects of only a handful of them and the revelations are frightening enough.
One study, conducted jointly over a 20-year period by Kolkata University, Advanced Medicine and Research Institute and Cleveland Clinic of Ohio, USA, and published in the American medical journal Fertility and Sterility, said that sperm samples collected from 729 men in the urban areas registered an alarming decline in both count and motility. The researchers faulted long-term exposure to vehicular exhaust for this predicament, specially ingestion of heavy metals like lead and cadmium which have been known to have deleterious effects on human health for years. Lead, one of the most studied neurotoxins, was identified as early as the 2nd century BC, as an element that 'makes the mind give way.' As for cadmium, it is a proven carcinogen.
The other study, also dealing with the hazards of air pollution, was undertaken by Kolkata's IVF and Infertility Research Centre. It monitored a hundred childless couples and found that 15 to 20 per cent of them had suffered miscarriages over a two-year period. This, the researchers concluded, was not due to any anomalies in the would-be mothers but the excessive exposure of the would-be fathers to poisonous exhaust of motor vehicles. That the reproductive health of both in a couple is vital for their future offspring has again been established by these studies. Previously it was thought that the health condition of the male was of no consequence when conceiving babies but that complacency was shattered when Gulf War soldiers were found to father terribly malformed children after their return.
Human beings today have been exposed to hundreds of thousands of more chemicals than their ancestors. But, despite the concerns of health and environmental watchdogs, not enough research has yet been done to understand their long-term effects on life. According to the US National Research Council, there was no information at all on the possible toxic effects of over 80 per cent of the 50,000 or so industrial chemicals (excluding food additives, pesticides, cosmetics and drugs) used in the United States in the 1990s. Of the rest not all answers were known. Indeed, no testing had reportedly been done to determine whether or not the chemicals would potentially cause neuro-behavioural damage, birth defects or other toxic effects.
Substances that have been studied include benzene which has been linked to leukemia, asbestos exposure to mesotheliomia; PCBs, in electrical transformers, plastic paints, varnishes and waxes, linked to endocrine system disorders; and indeed, many solvents, shoe polish, glues, household cleaners, and everyday consumer products contain neurotoxic chemicals that affect behaviour, learning ability, metabolism, the immune system and reproduction. As of 2009, one can say with certainty that although environmental health researchers continue to be quite alert, they can never keep pace with the astronomical combinations of old and new chemical compounds that are entering the market. Bangladesh imports substantial quantities of chemicals, the handling and storage of which are reportedly careless. It is not unusual to find poisons and exposed groceries on the same shelf.
High time the CAB (Consumer Association of Bangladesh) did something in this sector.
One study, conducted jointly over a 20-year period by Kolkata University, Advanced Medicine and Research Institute and Cleveland Clinic of Ohio, USA, and published in the American medical journal Fertility and Sterility, said that sperm samples collected from 729 men in the urban areas registered an alarming decline in both count and motility. The researchers faulted long-term exposure to vehicular exhaust for this predicament, specially ingestion of heavy metals like lead and cadmium which have been known to have deleterious effects on human health for years. Lead, one of the most studied neurotoxins, was identified as early as the 2nd century BC, as an element that 'makes the mind give way.' As for cadmium, it is a proven carcinogen.
The other study, also dealing with the hazards of air pollution, was undertaken by Kolkata's IVF and Infertility Research Centre. It monitored a hundred childless couples and found that 15 to 20 per cent of them had suffered miscarriages over a two-year period. This, the researchers concluded, was not due to any anomalies in the would-be mothers but the excessive exposure of the would-be fathers to poisonous exhaust of motor vehicles. That the reproductive health of both in a couple is vital for their future offspring has again been established by these studies. Previously it was thought that the health condition of the male was of no consequence when conceiving babies but that complacency was shattered when Gulf War soldiers were found to father terribly malformed children after their return.
Human beings today have been exposed to hundreds of thousands of more chemicals than their ancestors. But, despite the concerns of health and environmental watchdogs, not enough research has yet been done to understand their long-term effects on life. According to the US National Research Council, there was no information at all on the possible toxic effects of over 80 per cent of the 50,000 or so industrial chemicals (excluding food additives, pesticides, cosmetics and drugs) used in the United States in the 1990s. Of the rest not all answers were known. Indeed, no testing had reportedly been done to determine whether or not the chemicals would potentially cause neuro-behavioural damage, birth defects or other toxic effects.
Substances that have been studied include benzene which has been linked to leukemia, asbestos exposure to mesotheliomia; PCBs, in electrical transformers, plastic paints, varnishes and waxes, linked to endocrine system disorders; and indeed, many solvents, shoe polish, glues, household cleaners, and everyday consumer products contain neurotoxic chemicals that affect behaviour, learning ability, metabolism, the immune system and reproduction. As of 2009, one can say with certainty that although environmental health researchers continue to be quite alert, they can never keep pace with the astronomical combinations of old and new chemical compounds that are entering the market. Bangladesh imports substantial quantities of chemicals, the handling and storage of which are reportedly careless. It is not unusual to find poisons and exposed groceries on the same shelf.
High time the CAB (Consumer Association of Bangladesh) did something in this sector.