Health: Workplace Chemicals Drop Sperm Count - Printers, Painters at Highest Risk

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From:
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/1728.88879

Workplace Chemicals Drop Sperm Count
Printers, Painters at Highest Risk

By  Michael Smith WebMD Medical News

Sept. 13, 2001 -- Experts have long felt that exposure to toxic
chemicals would likely lead to low sperm counts and infertility in men,
but medical researchers have been unable to pinpoint which workplace
chemicals, if any, seem to cause the problem -- at least until now.

Doctors from Canada found that exposure to organic solvents in jobs such
as painters and decorators, printers, laundry and dry cleaning workers,
shipbuilders, and repair workers can, in fact, cause the sperm count to
fall.

The study, which appears in the most recent issue of Occupational and
Environmental Medicine, shows that among over 1,200 men, those with
exposure to moderate levels of solvents were twice as likely to have a
low sperm count. And men exposed to high levels of solvents were 3-4
times more likely to see a large drop in their sperm count.

The researchers found that painters and decorators, builders, and
printers were most likely to have low sperm counts associated with
exposure to organic solvents.

The next step, the researchers say, is to find exactly which chemicals
in these solvents seem to be causing the damage. And in the meantime,
they suggest that exposure to these chemicals be kept to a minimum in
order to reduce any potentially damaging effects on sperm.

Medically Reviewed
By Dr. Gary Vogin
© 2001 WebMD Corporation. All rights reserved.