Male Fertility and Pesticides - Revisited

... when the cells were exposed to the pesticide for 6 hours, there was no resumption of testosterone production 18 hours later.

[ Pesticide Poisoning and Kids ] * [ Symptoms of Pesticide Poisoning ]
[ MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS ]

Subject:   Your "Registered" POISONS are Impairing Male Fertility--
Date:       Tue, 21 Mar 2000 22:20:00 -0500
From:        Stephen Tvedten <steve@getipm.com>
Organization:     Get Set Inc. (www.getipm.com)

To:     Lyndon Hawkins <hawkins@empm.cdpr.ca.gov>
          Senior Research Scientist
          State of California, Department of Pesticide Regulation
          Integrated Pest Management

Dear Lyndon, I thought you might be interested in the following article entitled: Pesticide May Impair Male Fertility - By Nancy Deutsch

NEW YORK, Mar 20 (Reuters Health) -- A commonly used pesticide may interfere with levels of the male hormone testosterone, affecting male fertility, according to researchers with the Environmental Protection Agency and the Population Council.

To reduce this risk, the researchers advise washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly before eating them or switching to organic produce.

A team of scientists led by Dr. Benson Akingbemi at the Center for Biomedical Research of the Population Council in New York exposed rats to HPTE, a breakdown product of the pesticide methoxychlor that is used to preserve fruits and vegetables. They found that HPTE significantly lowered the rats' levels of testosterone.

Methoxychlor has been used quite widely since DDT was banned in the United States in 1972. Methoxychlor is a preservative that is rapidly excreted from the body and less toxic than DDT.

"The consequences of this finding is that men may suffer a decrease in reproductive function due to lower testosterone," said Dr. Matthew P. Hardy, a reproductive biologist and one of the authors of the paper published in the journal Biology of Reproduction. "We know other factors come into play, but this metabolite can adversely affect testosterone in men."

The investigators isolated adult Leydig cells (testicular cells instrumental in testosterone production) from rats and cultured them with various levels of HPTE. When treatment lasted 3 hours, the cells rebounded to some extent in the 18 hours after exposure. But when the cells were exposed to the pesticide for 6 hours, there was no resumption of testosterone production 18 hours later.

Humans would likely have the same response since their Leydig cells are similar to those found in rats, Akingbemi said. However, "it is not known what amount of pesticide humans are exposed to and for what length of time" so it is not known how long it would take before there would be a change in human testosterone production, he noted.

He estimated that most humans are exposed to about 0.8 micrograms of methoxychlor daily, mainly through produce preserved with the pesticide.

The finding also raises concerns about young boys' exposure to the chemical. "We do not really know the consequences of long-term exposure to this," Akingbemi said.

Since conducting this research, he follows his own advice of limiting exposure to this compound by washing fruits and vegetables well before eating them.

Hardy is even more cautious. "Protect yourself against exposure by eating organically grown fruits and vegetables."

The scientists plan to study other compounds that may affect hormone production, including materials found in medical devices and products used in the canning of foods.

Biology of Reproduction 2000;62:571-578.

Copyright © 1999 Reuters Ltd. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.

Well Lyndon, it certainly seems to me that even the active ingredients in your "registered" POISONS are basically untested and therefore, these toxins are certainly not properly "registered". When will you "legally" allow the use of safe and effective alternatives to actually control pest problems in California? Or are you trying to "chemically" slow down the population explosion in California?

Respectfully, Stephen L. Tvedten

---

 

TOP
 If you would like to be included in our mailing list for continuing information on pesticides, Email Us.