In 2000, a Danish study of young military recruits reported that many of them had low sperm counts, lower than earlier Danish measurements from prior decades. One explanation offered for this observation was the possibility that they were not yet sexually mature. This new study finds that sperm count of a subset of these young men did not increase as they were tracked over the next four years. Hence the low sperm counts are unlikely to be due to sexual immaturity.

Dr. Fred vom Saal describes current uses of the molecule called bisphenol A, an estrogenic contaminant.

The compound is now linked by animal experiments to a wide array of health effects following exposure to extremely low doses. Public comments from the American Council on Science and Health and junkscience.com contain blatant errors that reveal either a lack of scientific understanding.

The results implicate these compounds, the birth control agent ethinylestradiol and the plastic monomer bisphenol A, in human prostate diseases, including prostate cancer. The study also shows the futility of predicting the developmental consequences of low-dose exposures based on high-dose experiments.

In June 2005, over 100 research scientists with active research programs studying endocrine disruption from 15 countries issued a joint, signed statement concluding that scientific uncertainty should not delay precautionary action on reducing the exposures to and the risks from endocrine disrupters. According to their assessment, current safety standards are ill-equipped to deal with risks caused by endocrine disrupters and that current testing procedures may lead to serious underestimations of risk.

This research was based on proof that BPA causes meiotic aneuploidy in mice. Meiotic aneuploidy is the commonest cause of miscarriage in people. The researchers also followed the pregnancies of the women to completion, and found evidence of aneuploidy in several of the miscarried fetuses. Bisphenol A is widely used in consumer product, including polycarbonate water bottles, epoxy linings for food cans and coatings for papers. Almost all Americans carry measureable levels of BPA, at levels within the range known to cause changes in cellular responses.

Infants in a hospital that has continued use of phthalate-containing plastics in equipment used in neonatal intensive care units have higher phthalate metabolites in their urine than one that switched to other materials. Infants most exposed to DEHP had five times the level of a metabolite as those least exposed.