R. Thomas Zoeller, chair of the biology department at the University of Massachussetts, called it "a very important paper."
"It is telling us that the pesticides most prevalent in the human population have effects on the androgen receptor," said Zoeller, who directs the university's Laboratory of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Endocrinology.
"Considering all the evidence that human male reproduction is exhibiting troubling secular trends (sperm count and quality, hypospadias, cryptorchidism, testis cancer), this is highly troubling," he said.
Funded by the European Commission, the University of London scientists selected the pesticides to test by identifying those found most often in European fruits and vegetables. They are approved for use in many countries, including the United States.
The researchers noted “a clear disparity” between today's most widely used pesticides and the current knowledge of their risks, “with the majority of the published literature focused on pesticides that are no longer registered for use in developed countries.”
Of the tested compounds, the most potent in terms of blocking androgens was the insecticide fenitrothion, an organophosphate insecticide used on orchard fruits, grains, rice, vegetables and other crops.
Others with hormonal activity include fludioxonil, fenhexamid, dimethomorph and imazalil, which are all fungicides. Fungicides are often applied close to harvest, so they are frequently found as residue in food. Some are new compounds which have been used for only a few years.
Fungicides “are typically applied as mixtures in order to increase effectiveness and prevent development of resistant strains and therefore, human exposure to mixtures of these in vitro anti-androgens may be considerable,” wrote Kortenkamp and the other study authors, Frances Orton, Erika Rosivatz and Martin Scholze.
For six of the pesticides that showed hormonal activity for the first time, the authors said they “strongly recommend” the next round of testing, using lab animals. “Due to estimated anti-androgenic potency, current use, estimated exposure, and lack of previous data, we strongly recommend that dimethomorph, fludioxonil, fenhexamid, imazalil, ortho-phenylphenol and pirimiphos-methyl be tested for anti-androgenic effects in vivo.”
For the first four pesticides, they called it “a matter of urgency.” They are used on strawberries, lettuce, grapes and other fruits and vegetables.
Mary Emma Young of CropLife America, which represents the pesticide industry, said the group is reviewing the new study and could not yet comment on it. She added that "we continue to work with EPA and others to understand the potential for a chemical to interact with the endocrine system as well as the potential consequences of that interaction on human health and the environment."
In 2009, the EPA ordered industry to use the in-vitro assays to screen 67 pesticides for their potential effect on hormones. The deadline is this October – 15 years after Congress granted the agency the authority to screen for such effects – but an extension is likely.
Last November, the EPA added another 134 pesticides and industrial chemicals found in water supplies. The testing is the first step toward including hormone data in the regulation of pesticides and industrial chemicals.
Pesticide companies, in a January letter to the EPA, asked the agency to refrain from listing more chemicals for testing "until the agency has had an opportunity to evaluate the performance" of the techniques used to test the initial 67 pesticides.
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7 Comments
Add CommentThis headline is kind of dated, but always a good reminder of the consequences of human carelessness. This is nothing new and has been reported time and time again in cancer research publications among other places. The genesis and consequences of problems like those described here has been described in great detail. One good example is the excellent work done by Tyrone Hayes of UC-Berkeley, who has reported majorly distorted sex organs and poorly developed body structures of frogs exposed to the herbicide atrazine at low ppb levels. He and his collaborators have demonstrated elevated aromatase activity leading to the conversion of testosterone to estrogen and demonstrated the same mechanism in mammalian cells. In frogs, the effects ranged from cancers to hermaphoditic offspring, which is pretty scary for humans with similar enzyme activity.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThis is a problem that can be solved by crop dusting.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLocate all the offices and homes of the executives who produce these chemicals. Apply generous amounts to those areas and the problem should clear itself up in about a generation or two.
Based on this study and an interview with a University of California expert that was published a few months ago, it appears that consumers are not being adequately protected from potentially harmful chemicals. Common sense dictates that a chemical should undergo stringent analysis for toxicity BEFORE it is permitted to enter the market (and reach the consumer). The onus to demonstrate that a chemical is safe should fall on the chemical producer. But rather than assume this responsibility, the chemical producer prematurely releases its product and arrogantly exclaims, Catch me if you can!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhy are we ignoring common sense? Why are we putting profit before people's well-being?
To learn more about this troubling topic, I intend to read the book Doubt Is Their Product: How Industry's Assault on Science Threatens Your Health by David Michaels.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBy the way, here is the link to that Ask the Experts interview.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=are-everyday-consumer-products-making-people-sick
The results of the male hormone disruption is obviously with Global effects. Boys and young men male maturity is retarded and the evidence is in their universal adolescent behavior. The open willingness to engage in interactive games that involve their genitals is normal adolescent behavior. However, for this to persist well into their late twenties and considered normal heterosexual behavior is a deficient awaking and simply discarding it as a cultural generation thing is beyond consideration. Their emotions are heighten to the point that normal functions to engage in reality is so overwhelming the resulting is stagnation.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe one insecticide (fenitrothion) and the four fungicides identified as endocrine disruptors in this report are not the whole story. Some herbicides also disrupt male endocrines. And the common element of all of these is that these chemicals are the profitable products of chemical companies. And these companies pay huge amounts of money to "buy" Congressmen and lobby the legislative process. The EPA now is trying manfully to get a hold of this biologically disastrous situation, but they have limited resources, and the chemical companies are always coming up with more endocrine disruptors. It is money which speaks these days, and it speaks determinately. We are heading to the point when we will have our Egyptian moment. The direction is obvious; the timing is not.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf the pesticide companies think this stuff is harmless then they should be eager to test each chemical and prove it harmless. If they are reluctant then they clearly should not be allowed to do business in the USA.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnother consideration is that new high tech agro techniques are cutting down a lot on usage of pesticides and herbicides. This is a trend driven by agro producers because it saves a lot of money. I don't know if that applies to fungicides or not but I am hopeful that targeted application will help reduce exposure to many of these chemicals.