Hormone disrupting chemicals 'feminising' baby boys, report reveals - 21 May 2009
Chemicals in personal care products affecting boys
A researcher has written a report warning that the combination of chemicals in skin care products and around the house could be the reason behind the increasing number of cases of Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome in baby boys.
The Professor, from the Medical Research Council, believes that a mix of hormone-disrupting chemicals could be limiting the effects of testosterone on unborn baby boys, causing traits such as male genital malformities, testicular cancer and lower sperm counts.
The chemicals concerned include phthalates, which are used in soaps, toothpastes and some flexible plastic containers, and pesticides. As well as a possible direct risk to people in rural areas where farmers are using pesticides, the residues of pesticide chemicals can also be found in food and potentially also in some non-organic skin care products.
The report written by the Professor was commissioned by the CHEM Trust, a charity dedicated to reducing exposure to toxic manmade chemicals in everyday life.
A spokesperson for the CHEM Trust said: “Chemicals that have been shown to act together to affect male reproductive health should have their risks assessed together.
“Currently that is not the case and unfortunately chemicals are looked at on an individual basis.
“Therefore, government assurances that exposures are too low to have any effect just do not hold water because regulators do not take into account the additive actions of hormone disrupting chemicals.”
Both the Professor and CHEM Trust recommend that we should be avoiding chemicals in skin care products and other sources where possible, with this advice particularly aimed at pregnant women.
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