Air pollution ‘harms sperm’

DIESEL fumes could harm male fertility, research suggests.

Men living in areas with high levels of air pollution were found to have distorted sperm, a study has revealed.

Experts analysed exposure to sooty particles which are particularly linked to emissions of old diesel cars. These particles – called PM2.5 – are so fine that they are breathed into the lungs and enter the blood stream.

The team found men exposed to high levels of this pollution were far more likely to have sperm of an abnormal size and shape. The research, published in the BMJ journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, was led by the Chinese University of Hong Kong. They examined sperm samples from 6,500 Taiwanese men aged 15 to 49. Men who were exposed to more pollution were at a 26 per cent increased risk of being in the bottom 10 per cent of normal sperm size and shape.

Just last month World Health Organisation data revealed 43 of 50 large towns and cities in Britain had dangerously high levels of PM2.5 particles.