Re: Sperm counts and industrial pollution

[Cooper John N <jcooper@BUCKNELL.EDU>]

> So if I understand your reportage of Professor Hammond's conclusion;
>   it is that the well-proven wastage of human sex hormones and their
> analogs into the water supply has yet to be definitively linked to
> changes in sexual performance in that half of the human population
> known to be acutely sensitive to environmental uptake of female sex
> hormone?
>
> Yes, quite!
   Prof Hammond made two points:
 a. the validity of the data on the decrease in sperm counts is suspect:
no conclusion on that is defensible at this point in her professional
opinion;
 b. the ability to detect all kinds of trace chemicals in this nations'
water supply gets increasingly sensitive, the gist of the Washington Post
story.  Whether those levels can said to be linked to changes in sexual
performance wasn't discussed; changes in sperm count, as distinct from
changes in performance, are covered in a. above.
  Her summary comment was "don't overreact".  She said she thought the
Independent article was sensationalist and inflammatory.  Her lecture here
tonight on Exposure and Reproductive Effects in the Semiconductor Industry
suggested to me her objectivity in related Environmental Health issues.
  JC