A provocative study on mice finds that the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing appear to disrupt the reproductive system.
Prenatal exposure to a cocktail of chemicals commonly used in the various phases of oil and natural gas production, including fracking, could carry long-term reproductive health consequences, according to a new study published on Wednesday.
Scientists tested 24 fracking chemicals -- including benzene, toluene and bisphenol A -- and found that 23 of them could mimic and mess with the natural signaling of estrogens, androgens and other human hormones, including functions critical for the healthy development of sex organs and future fertility. Researchers found that male mice exposed in the womb to minute levels of the mixture developed enlarged testes and decreased sperm counts later in life.
The concentrations represent potentially realistic levels of human exposure via drinking water, according to Susan Nagel, an author of the study and an expert in reproductive and environmental health at the University of Missouri.
"Bottom line, hormones work at very low concentrations naturally," Nagel told The Huffington Post. "It does not take a huge amount of a chemical to disrupt the endocrine system."
Hormone-disrupting chemicals have become the subject of increasing scientific scrutiny. In astatement published last month, the Endocrine Society, a professional medical organization, described the potentially widespread health threats posed by the class of chemicals. Even at very small concentrations -- say, a couple of tablespoons in an Olympic-size swimming pool -- exposures to these chemicals early in life have been shown capable of derailing normal brain and sexual development, diminishing the immune system's ability to fight disease, among other effects. Combine these chemicals, the society warned, and the risks may become all the more unpredictable and worrisome -- and potentially costly. An analysis published in March attributed more than $200 billion a year in health care expenses and lost earning potential to hormone-disruptor exposures in the European Union.
"We can't dismiss chemicals that we detect in our food or water just because they are at low doses," said Andrea Gore, a hormone disruptor expert at the University of Texas at Austin.
Gore, who is also editor-in-chief of Endocrinology, the journal in which the new study appears, suggested the findings fit an emerging pattern. In addition to reproductive health problems,scientists have increasingly found links between exposure to hormone disruptors -- which are also commonly found in plastics, herbicides, nonstick fry pans and other consumer goods -- and health issues like obesity, diabetes and breast cancer.
"During development, there are so many developmental processes -- structures and organization of different organs that are set up," she said. "If that gets perturbed, then an organ can really be deficient."
The boom in the extraction of oil and natural gas has continued across large swaths of the U.S. this year, even inspiring a new primetime television show. Fracking companies use a mix of pressurized water, sand and chemicals to unlock hydrocarbon reserves deep in shale rock. Among the approximately 1,000 different chemicals known to be used in these operations, the study authors report, at least 100 could potentially interfere with the natural hormone messengers in the body.
More: Fracking Chemicals May Mess With Hormones, Lower Sperm Counts
Sounds scary. If you live in a fracking area - you may wish to read the rest of the article.
Prenatal exposure to a cocktail of chemicals commonly used in the various phases of oil and natural gas production, including fracking, could carry long-term reproductive health consequences, according to a new study published on Wednesday.
Scientists tested 24 fracking chemicals -- including benzene, toluene and bisphenol A -- and found that 23 of them could mimic and mess with the natural signaling of estrogens, androgens and other human hormones, including functions critical for the healthy development of sex organs and future fertility. Researchers found that male mice exposed in the womb to minute levels of the mixture developed enlarged testes and decreased sperm counts later in life.
The concentrations represent potentially realistic levels of human exposure via drinking water, according to Susan Nagel, an author of the study and an expert in reproductive and environmental health at the University of Missouri.
"Bottom line, hormones work at very low concentrations naturally," Nagel told The Huffington Post. "It does not take a huge amount of a chemical to disrupt the endocrine system."
Hormone-disrupting chemicals have become the subject of increasing scientific scrutiny. In astatement published last month, the Endocrine Society, a professional medical organization, described the potentially widespread health threats posed by the class of chemicals. Even at very small concentrations -- say, a couple of tablespoons in an Olympic-size swimming pool -- exposures to these chemicals early in life have been shown capable of derailing normal brain and sexual development, diminishing the immune system's ability to fight disease, among other effects. Combine these chemicals, the society warned, and the risks may become all the more unpredictable and worrisome -- and potentially costly. An analysis published in March attributed more than $200 billion a year in health care expenses and lost earning potential to hormone-disruptor exposures in the European Union.
"We can't dismiss chemicals that we detect in our food or water just because they are at low doses," said Andrea Gore, a hormone disruptor expert at the University of Texas at Austin.
Gore, who is also editor-in-chief of Endocrinology, the journal in which the new study appears, suggested the findings fit an emerging pattern. In addition to reproductive health problems,scientists have increasingly found links between exposure to hormone disruptors -- which are also commonly found in plastics, herbicides, nonstick fry pans and other consumer goods -- and health issues like obesity, diabetes and breast cancer.
"During development, there are so many developmental processes -- structures and organization of different organs that are set up," she said. "If that gets perturbed, then an organ can really be deficient."
The boom in the extraction of oil and natural gas has continued across large swaths of the U.S. this year, even inspiring a new primetime television show. Fracking companies use a mix of pressurized water, sand and chemicals to unlock hydrocarbon reserves deep in shale rock. Among the approximately 1,000 different chemicals known to be used in these operations, the study authors report, at least 100 could potentially interfere with the natural hormone messengers in the body.
More: Fracking Chemicals May Mess With Hormones, Lower Sperm Counts
Sounds scary. If you live in a fracking area - you may wish to read the rest of the article.
