Book spurs controversial chemical debate
March 14, 1996
Web posted at: 5:00 p.m. ESTFrom Correspondent Sharon Collins
(CNN) -- A new book raises a lot of questions about the long-term impact of chemicals and their effect on humans, saying some chemicals may affect the way we reproduce.
The book's assertions are prompting widespread debate: Is it an environmental warning or simply alarmist?
"Our Stolen Future" deals with chemicals, hormones and the very essence of what makes us male and female. The book suggests that certain chemicals may be tricking our endocrine system, acting like hormones and throwing our reproductive organs out of whack.
The chemicals, according to the book, are able to dupe the endocrine system because our bodies have receptors like puzzle pieces. The hormone estrogen, which stimulates the development of female secondary sex characteristics, fits in certain spots. These chemicals, however, look just like estrogen and slip into estrogen's slot in the puzzle.
Studies show that male animals exposed to certain chemicals fail to develop fully-sized genitalia.
Dr. Theo Colborn, co-author of the book, says males' genitalia does not develop fully because of long exposure to a chemical that blocks the natural hormone that would tell a young man's body how to develop.
An example of how chemicals can throw off our endocrine system comes from a study at Tufts University. When looking for a cause of breast cancer, university researchers were surprised to find that a plastic test tube made cancer cells grow.
They discovered that a chemical in the tube, called nonylphenol, acted just like the hormone estrogen. The material leached off the plastic tube and would trick the cancer cells into thinking it was estrogen, according to Dr. Colborn.
The research opens a whole new area of concern. Nonylphenols and chemicals like them can be found in everything from plastics to detergents. And if they're messing with our hormones, some scientists say the effects could be long lasting and possibly catastrophic.
Colborn says that a "very, very low dose exposure" of one of the chemicals to a developing baby "can change the course of development in that child and the effect may not be expressed until that child reaches adulthood."
Many critics simply call the book an environmental scare tactic.
"We eat plants all the time. Plants produce huge quantities of these chemicals. If we couldn't defend ourselves against these chemicals, we wouldn't be here," said Jonathan Tolman of Competitive Enterprise Institute.
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