Airborne Persistent Organic Pollutants and Male Reproductive Health

Abstract

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that persist in the environment, bioaccumulate through the food chain, and exhibit toxic effects that threaten the health of humans and animals alike. The potential influence of POPrelated air pollution on male reproductive outcomes has attracted increasing interest in the scientific community and among policymakers and the public. Therefore, epidemiological studies on fertility should examine the impact of chronic exposure to POPs via inhalation. The objective of this review is to present and discuss the available evidence linking the exposure to airborne POPs to male reproductive health problems. This study focuses on the air concentrations, biomarkers, and potential effects on the male reproductive health of two classes of POPs: the industrial polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs). Although the association between atmospheric pollutants and male reproductive health has been extensively investigated, particularly in relation to semen quality and endocrine outcomes, the molecular mechanisms of action, the adverse effects, and the dose-response relationships for many of these chemicals remain poorly understood. No systematic screening of common chemicals for negative endocrine effects is currently underway, and many questions remain regarding the impact on male reproductive health of exposures to these POPs. This review presents the air concentrations, biomarkers, and adverse male reproductive effects of PCBs and PBDEs pollutants. Given the dearth of information on this topic in the literature, studies are clearly needed to assess how pre-and post-natal exposure to airborne PCBs and PBDEs affects the male reproductive system. Future studies must also identify aerosols and airborne POPs that have a significant impact on male reproductive health and the pathways responsible for those effects.

Levels of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Air-Conditioner Filter Dust Used to Assess Health Risks in Clinic and Electronic Plant Employees

“…They tend to accumulate in human bodies and have been detected in human milk and umbilical cord blood (Wang et al, 2008;Lin et al, 2011;Koh et al, 2010). Human with prenatal or postnatal exposure to PBDEs has been demonstrated to be associated with several adverse health outcomes (Chao et al, 2014b;Hsu et al, 2014) including low birth length and weight (Chao et al, 2007), menstrual irregularity , disruption of thyroid and growth hormones (Shy et al, 2012), and interference with neurological development in infants (Chao et al, 2011). In the recent study in the e-waste dismantling areas, the researchers found that serum levels of PBDEs were related with increasing levels of white blood cells, hemoglobin, and platelets (Xu et al, 2015a).…”

Indoor Level of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in the Home Environment and Assessment of Human Health Risks

“…Toxicological data was achieved on the US EPA Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) showing that reference doses for chronic oral exposure (RfDs) on neurobehavioral effects were 0.0001 (Benchmark Dose level (BMDL): 0.35 mg/kg), 0.0001 (BMDL: 0.29 mg/kg), 0.0002 (no-observe-adverse-effect level (NOAEL): 0.45 mg/kg) and 0.007 mg/kg/day (NOAEL: 2.22 mg/kg) in BDE-47, 99, 153, and 209, respectively (US EPA, 2008). PBDEs have continuously raised the public's and public officials' concern because of their ubiquity in the microenvironment and their association with several adverse health effects, including disruption of thyroid and growth hormone homeostasis, neurodevelopment, menstruation, pregnancy, and semen quality (Chao et al, 2007;Chao et al, 2010;Lin et al, 2011;Shy et al, 2012;Chao et al, 2014a;Hsu et al, 2014). Air levels of PBDEs are often lower outdoors than indoors .…”

Integrated wetlands for food production

“…To produce products using contaminated feeds or in contaminated fields will ultimately exert human health risks, especially to sensitive members of the population, such as infants and pregnant women. Various studies revealed that PTS play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of some health effects, such as POPs, Hg with male subfertility (Hauser et al, 2003;Hsu et al, 2014;McAuliffe et al, 2012), autism in children due to metal overload (Bjørklund, 2013;Hagmeyer et al, 2015); Cancers associated with high loadings of PTS in human bodies (Cohn et al, 2007;Li et al, 2011;Steinmaus et al, 2013;Vogt et al, 2012), etc.…”