Living Without Endocrine Disruptors

It is increasingly difficult to hear the croaking of frogs. Silence is taking over the world’s rivers, lakes and ponds due to the reduction of amphibian populations. At the same time, women and men experience greater difficulties in having children, because semen loses quality and women suffer reproductive disorders.

Is there a common cause for this silent disaster? At the origin of the two phenomena – and of other diseases and environmental problems – are endocrine disruptors, polluting substances that are found everywhere – in the house, food, cosmetics, clothing, the air – and that accumulate in the body.

Impact on the body of disruptors

Numerous studies have described these synthetic substances and their behavior in the human body as if they were female hormones (estrogens). They can also block the action of these and other natural hormones, inducing alterations that lead to reproductive, neurological, and metabolic disorders and in different organs:

· They alter the development and functioning of the male reproductive system, causing an increase in cases of cryptorchidism in boys (incomplete descent of one or both testicles) and a reduction in the number and mobility of sperm.

They produce disorders of the female reproductive system: precocious puberty, lower fertility, abortions, polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis and uterine fibroids, premature birth, low birth weight …

· Increase the incidence of breast, ovarian, prostate, testicular and thyroid cancers.

· Concentration and learning difficulties, hyperactivity and low IQ could be related to these substances.

· Rising diseases that are often attributed to other reasons, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis and even common disorders such as obesity and diabetes have also been associated with them.

They are everywhere

Endocrine disruptors are many more than was believed just ten years ago. The current list of known substances reaches 312 (if the very suspicious ones are added, it reaches 964, according to Dr. Theo Colborn) and will not stop growing as tests are carried out on the more than 100,000 chemical molecules that the industry has. developed.

According to a Greenpeace study, each gram of dust in a Spanish home contains 1 mg of these disruptors

The experts’ efforts to publicize their risks are faced not only by conservative scientists, but also by “groups with an interest in the production, use and manufacture of these products and their derivatives, which occupy a very important part of the market. of the chemical industry ”, says Dr. Nicolás Olea, from the University of Granada, the main Spanish researcher on the subject. According to a Greenpeace study, each gram of dust in a Spanish home contains 1 mg of endocrine disruptors, which reveals the extent of the problem.

As long as the authorities do not restrict their use by the industry, find out where they are and how to minimize them, because it is possible to reduce exposure.

Main disruptors

· Phthalates are found in almost all flexible plastics (such as those used in swimming pools, mats, bags, balls, and other toys), as well as in soaps, gels and shampoos, nail polish, lipstick, and other cosmetics.

· Nonylphenols are found in widely consumed foods. Researchers from the Jülich Research Center (Germany) detected them in the 59 samples they took from German supermarkets: not even the 20 baby products were spared from their presence. They are in jams, sauces, melted cheeses, chocolates, butter, apples, chicken, tuna, tomatoes, formula milk and baby food, among others. The study authors believe it is due to the use of agricultural pesticides and subsequent packaging in plastic bags and containers (such as polystyrene trays or white cork). Nonylphenols are also found in products that come into direct contact with the body, such as condoms with spermicide and detergents.

· Polybrominated flame retardants (PBBs) used to prevent fires are potent thyroid disruptors. These compounds are found, for example, in electrical appliances, clothing or the polyurethane foam used as insulation in construction.

· Dioxins, in addition to being carcinogenic, are endocrine disruptors. Its main source is incinerators, including municipal waste, as well as paper companies and copper and iron foundries. Once released into the environment, they end up accumulating in the fat of farm animals and the food obtained from them. Organochlorine compounds emitted by combustion engines are also disruptors.

· Bisphenol A is found in hard plastics (polycarbonate) that are used, for example, in drums for office water fountains. Its use in baby bottles was banned in 2011, but it is still used in many food packaging, such as tin cans with an inner liner. A few years ago it was believed that bisphenol was only released from plastic if the liquid was heated, but today it is known that at room temperature it also pollutes. It is also present in dental fillings or on thermal paper where store tickets, movie tickets or airline tickets are printed (bisphenol can infiltrate the body through the skin after touching them). The parliamentary group of the United Left presented in 2013 a non-law proposal in the Cortes to prohibit this compound, one of the most worrying, in food containers.

· Parabens are common preservatives in household and personal hygiene products. Many manufacturers have stopped using them due to news linking them to breast cancer, but they are still allowed.

Avoiding all these substances – and many others that would be impossible to list – is important for everyone, but especially for women of childbearing age, since the most negative effects occur during the embryonic, fetal and early childhood stages. Avoiding them or at least ensuring that they do not flood our daily lives should be part of the care that mothers dedicate to their children and that should be assumed by all of society.