Link between plastic and reproduction

It’s the report that we at Plastic Free Windsor have been waiting for – a link between plastic and human reproductive health.

It was only a matter of time.

The impact of hormone disrupting chemicals on reproductive health in dolphins, in particular the killer whale, has been suspected for some time.

To imagine a similar impact on reproductive health in humans isn’t much of a stretch.

Shanna Swan is a professor of environmental medicine and public health at Mount Sinai school of medicine in New York City.

In 2017, she published data demonstrating that average sperm count in western men had fallen by over 50 per cent between 1973 and 2011.

Today, April 1, 2021, Simon and Schuster publish Professor Swann’s new book, Countdown, in which she identifies phthalates and bisphenol A as the most worrying chemicals for human reproductive health.

Phthalates lower testosterone and sperm count in men, while decreasing libido and increasing risk of premature ovarian failure, miscarriage and premature birth in women.

Bisphenol A mimics oestrogen and increases risk of reduced fertility in women.

In men it decreases sperm quality, reduces libido, and causes higher rates of erectile dysfunction.

Phthalates are widely used in the manufacture of plastic to make it soft. Bisphenol A is used to harden it. Extrapolating scientific data is a risky business, but extending Professor

Swann’s curve for reducing sperm count in western men between 1973 and 2011 predicts that by 2045, most couples planning to start or add to their family may have to take advantage of assisted reproduction.

These findings demonstrate just how important it is that as individuals we reduce our own dependence on single use plastic, particularly where food and drink is concerned, and that as a society we stop manufacturing plastic that is intended to be used once and thrown away.

PAUL HINTON Plastic Free Windsor