The feminizing environment: how endocrine disrupting chemicals may be impacting human reproductive development

UnrestrictedThis dissertation, in the form of a radio documentary, explores the growing body of research on a family of chemicals known as endocrine disruptors. These manmade chemicals are found in everything from pesticides used on crops to the plasticizers in baby bottles, and by mimicking the body's natural hormones, such as estrogen and testosterone, they may be having deleterious effects on human reproductive development. One birth defect in particular, known as Hypospadias, has shown an increased prevalence in the past several decades and some researchers think this common deformity of the penis may be an indicator of incomplete masculinization during fetal development, and could be caused by exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals. This dissertation looks at scientific evidence in the animal kingdom regarding the feminizing effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals on wildlife and raises questions about what that research might mean for human reproductive health, specifically in relation to Hypospadias