Teflon chemical linked to poor semen quality in young men

A chemical found in nonstick cookware and other household products is being linked to low sperm count and poor sperm quality, according to a new study released by Environmental Health Perspectives (download the study PDF here).

The study is the first to link perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs, to human semen quality.

A separate, recent, study linked high levels of these chemicals in women’s bodies with sub-fertility in the form of delayed conception.

The study was conducted in Denmark. Data came from blood and semen samples collected from 100 young men who reported for the country’s military duty, according to a story in The Charleston Gazette.

They found that men with high combined levels of PFOA and a related chemical, PFOS, had a median of 6.2 million normal sperm in their ejaculate, compared to 15.5 million normal sperm among men with lower levels of the chemicals.

The Gazette has been closely tracking C8 because it is produced in West Virginia by the DuPont Corporation.

In West Virginia, DuPont Co. has used C8 since the 1950s at its Washington Works plant south of Parkersburg. C8 is a processing agent used to make Teflon and other nonstick products, oil-resistant paper packaging and stain-resistant textiles.

Around the world, researchers are finding that people have C8 and other perfluorochemicals in their blood at low levels. People can be exposed by drinking contaminated water, eating tainted foods, or through food packaging and stain-proof agents on furniture or carpet.

Evidence is mounting about these chemicals' dangerous effects, but regulators have yet to set a binding federal limit for emissions or human exposure.

The Gazette recently editorialized that the U.S. government must do more to regulate these dangerous chemicals.

This year’s Government Accountability Office report warned that the Environmental Protection Agency is not protecting the public from toxic chemicals. The report placed the EPA’s ineffectiveness on par with the country’s failed financial regulation system. In response to the report, Congress recently met to discuss updating the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act.