Pacific Spirit Marine Institute
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
This article began as being a story about the feminization of some types of male fish. While doing research I came upon some very sobering statistics regarding male testicular cancer and other types of frightening conditions of the male reproductive organs. This type of cancer as well as defects of the male reproduction system are on a disturbing rise and are being increasingly linked to the use of a chemicals called Phthalates.
Phthalates are found in all types of plastics. sometime in the 1950’s these chemicals started being mass-produced and used in the production of plastics. this chemical makes plastic more flexible. Look around your home or office and see just how many things are made from, or contain plastic. Don’t forget about those things unseen like PVC pipes. Most all of the water you come in contact with has moved at some point through some PVC pipe. In fact 90% of the Phthalates produced in the UK go into the production of PVC products.
The danger to the male reproduction system is so high in fact that the European Food Safety Authority placed a temporary ban on the use of Phthalates in the use of products that directly contact food. In 2004 Greenpeace research reveled, in fact, packaging used by UK retailers still contained Phthalates, which can migrate into foods. In 2005 the European Parliament voted to permanently ban the use of these chemicals in children’s toys and childcare articles, belief being that’s the most critically sensitive time in the reproduction system development.
The ban may be too little, too late. A laundry list of conditions now on the rise reads like an alien sci-fi movie script. Cryptorchidism (undescended testicle) hypospadias ( a birth defect of the penis) impaired spermatogenesis (sperm production) and testicular cancers are taking a steep rise.
The blanket term for all these conditions is now known as Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome (TDS). Keep an eye out for that term in the coming years. I fear we are only just now seeing the tip of the iceberg regarding this terrible trend.
In particular there is also thought to be a very real link between Phthalates absorbed by women while pregnant. This is causing disruption of the prenatal testicular development leading to ‘feminization’ of the developing reproductive tracts in the womb.
Male fish of many variety, both fresh and saltwater, are increasingly being found actually producing eggs in their testis rather than sperm. They are also developing ovary tissue and being found with a reduction of sperm.
As fish are not shopping for their meals at the market, how are they coming in contact with Phthalates?
We will continue this tomorrow.
Labels: Feminization, PVC, Phthalates, Plastic, TDS, Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome, testical cancer
© 2009, Pacific Spirit Marine Institute.
Feminized Male Fish, Testicular Dysgenesis Syndrome and Phthalates in Plactics are Linked
