Skip to main content
The Western Journal of Medicine logoLink to The Western Journal of Medicine
. 1982 Dec;137(6):521–524.

Male Occupational Reproductive Hazards

M Donald Whorton 1
PMCID: PMC1274225  PMID: 7164432

Abstract

Studies assessing reproductive function among male workers were rare in the United States before the discovery of sterility and infertility in 1977 among employees of a pesticide formulating plant in central California. Subsequently, the etiologic agent, dibromochloropropane (DBCP), has been shown in numerous studies of humans and animals to produce similar effects. While studies on the influence of workplace exposures to various chemicals on reproductive function have proliferated during the past five years, no other single agent has approached the dramatic effects exhibited by DBCP. Other agents that have been evaluated and have shown some adverse effects are reviewed critically. Studies of spontaneous abortion or congenital abnormalities in children of wives of men exposed to anesthetic gases and DBCP indicate that pregnancy outcome, as well as infertility and sterility, is an important outcome measure.

Full text

PDF
523

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Biava C. G., Smuckler E. A., Whorton D. The testicular morphology of individuals exposed to dibromochloropropane. Exp Mol Pathol. 1978 Dec;29(3):448–458. doi: 10.1016/0014-4800(78)90085-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Egnatz D. G., Ott M. G., Townsend J. C., Olson R. D., Johns D. B. DBCP and testicular effects in chemical workers: an epidemiological survey in Midland, Michigan. J Occup Med. 1980 Nov;22(11):727–732. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Glass R. I., Lyness R. N., Mengle D. C., Powell K. E., Kahn E. Sperm count depression in pesticide applicators exposed to dibromochloropropane. Am J Epidemiol. 1979 Mar;109(3):346–351. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112687. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Harrington J. M., Rivera R. O., Lowry L. K. Occupational exposure to synthetic estrogens--the need to establish safety standards. Am Ind Hyg Assoc J. 1978 Feb;39(2):139–143. doi: 10.1080/0002889778507727. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Kharrazi M., Potashnik G., Goldsmith J. R. Reproductive effects of dibromochlorpropane. Isr J Med Sci. 1980 May;16(5):403–406. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Lipshultz L. I., Ross C. E., Whorton D., Milby T., Smith R., Joyner R. E. Dibromochloropropane and its effect on testicular function in man. J Urol. 1980 Oct;124(4):464–468. doi: 10.1016/s0022-5347(17)55497-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Milby T. H., Whorton M. D., Stubbs H. A., Ross C. E., Joyner R. E., Lipshultz L. I. Testicular function among epichlorohydrin workers. Br J Ind Med. 1981 Nov;38(4):372–377. doi: 10.1136/oem.38.4.372. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Márquez Mayaudón E. 1, 2 dibromo-3-cloro-propano (DBCP) nematicida con acción esterilizante en el hombre. Salud Publica Mex. 1978 Mar-Apr;20(2):195–200. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Olson W. A., Habermann R. T., Weisburger E. K., Ward J. M., Weisburger J. H. Induction of stomach cancer in rats and mice by halogenated aliphatic fumigants. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1973 Dec;51(6):1993–1995. doi: 10.1093/jnci/51.6.1993. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Potashnik G., Yanai-Inbar I., Sacks M. I., Israeli R. Effect of dibromochloropropane on human testicular function. Isr J Med Sci. 1979 May;15(5):438–442. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Rosenkranz H. S. Genetic activity of 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane, a widely-used fumigant. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1975 Jul;14(01):8–12. doi: 10.1007/BF01685590. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Rosenman K. D., Anderson H. A., Selikoff I. J., Wolff M. S., Holstein E. Spermatogenesis in men exposed to polybrominated biphenyl (PBB). Fertil Steril. 1979 Aug;32(2):209–213. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Sandifer S. H., Wilkins R. T., Loadholt C. B., Lane L. G., Eldridge J. C. Spermatogenesis in agricultural workers exposed to dibromochloropropane (DBCP). Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 1979 Nov;23(4-5):703–710. doi: 10.1007/BF01770028. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Spence A. A., Cohen E. N., Brown B. W., Jr, Knill-Jones R. P., Himmelberger D. U. Occupational hazards for operating room-based physicians. Analysis of data from the United States and the United Kingdom. JAMA. 1977 Aug 29;238(9):955–959. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. TORKELSON T. R., SADEK S. E., ROWE V. K., KODAMA J. K., ANDERSON H. H., LOQUVAM G. S., HINE C. H. Toxicologic investigations of 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol. 1961 Sep;3:545–559. doi: 10.1016/0041-008x(61)90045-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Venable J. R., McClimans C. D., Flake R. E., Dimick D. B. A fertility study of male employees engaged in the manufacture of glycerine. J Occup Med. 1980 Feb;22(2):87–91. doi: 10.1097/00043764-198002000-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Whorton D., Krauss R. M., Marshall S., Milby T. H. Infertility in male pesticide workers. Lancet. 1977 Dec 17;2(8051):1259–1261. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(77)92665-4. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Whorton D., Milby T. H., Krauss R. M., Stubbs H. A. Testicular function in DBCP exposed pesticide workers. J Occup Med. 1979 Mar;21(3):161–166. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Whorton M. D., Milby T. H. Recovery of testicular function among DBCP workers. J Occup Med. 1980 Mar;22(3):177–179. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Whorton M. D., Milby T. H., Stubbs H. A., Avashia B. H., Hull E. Q. Testicular function among carbaryl-exposed exployees. J Toxicol Environ Health. 1979 Sep;5(5):929–941. doi: 10.1080/15287397909529802. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Wyrobek A. J., Brodsky J., Gordon L., Moore D. H., 2nd, Watchmaker G., Cohen E. N. Sperm studies in anesthesiologists. Anesthesiology. 1981 Nov;55(5):527–532. doi: 10.1097/00000542-198111000-00008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wyrobek A. J., Watchmaker G., Gordon L., Wong K., Moore D., 2nd, Whorton D. Sperm shape abnormalities in carbaryl-exposed employees. Environ Health Perspect. 1981 Aug;40:255–265. doi: 10.1289/ehp.8140255. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Western Journal of Medicine are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES