Gender Bender Chemicals Exposure Widespread

Most people are exposed to a wide variety of 'gender bender' chemicals which mimic the female hormones and cause a variety of health problems. In recent years there has been an unexpected drop in the ratio of male births in the USA and Japan - up to a quarter of a million less boys over the last 30 years. Now scientists are linking this to our exposure to hormone-mimicing chemicals in food and cleaning products.

These pollutants include pesticides, dioxin, methyl mercury and bisphenol A. Seafood and fish oil is particular problem because pollutants dumped into rivers and the sea are accumulated and concentrated in fish - especially those nearer the top of the food chain. Food containers are another problem. Bisphenol A is used in food and drink cans, as well as in dental cements. Levels of Bisphenol A were found to be three times higher in women who suffered miscarriages and disfunctino of the ovaries than in other women.

Another group of chemicals, nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs), are widespread in detergents and cleaning products. These are potent endocrine disruptors and are thought to be responsible for the phenomenon of male fish turning into female fish which is observed in waterways throughout the world. European and Canadian regulators have banned NPEs in domestic laundry detergents and other cleaning agents, but they are still widespread elsewhere.