Incinerator Emissions and
Shrinking Genitals
Poisonous emissions from incinerators could be seriously hindering the sexual
development of children, a medical research has confirmed.The research, published
in The Lancet and released in May this year, found that teenagers living near
incinerators had smaller sexual organs than those in non-incinerator areas.
The teenagers' bodies, insist the findings, contain high levels of toxic chemicals
that not only retard and diminish sexual development, but are also linked to
cancer, heart disease, allergies and breathing illnesses.
The study looked specifically at heavy metals, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls,
all of which are key contaminants in incinerator emissions. The study compared
the levels and effects of environmental pollutants in the bodies of children
living near two waste incinerators in Belgium with those of adolescents living
in rural Belgium away from incinerators.
Boys living near the incinerators were found to have smaller testicles which
could be due to exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals from the emissions
of the incinerators and a nearby lead smelter during fetal, neo-natal (immediately
after birth) and prepubertal periods of their lives.
While girls adversely suffer from breast retardation as a result of high concentrations
of dioxin-like compounds, boys are said to suffer mainly due to high consumption
of PCBs. The release of report coincides with a worldwide awareness campaign
on the negative effects of incinerators in the environment.
The Lancet is a highly respected professional medical journal. For the complete
report, please issue 357,2001 (http://www.lancet.com/) or cntact Dr. Jan Staessen
of the Environmental Health Study Group e- mail :jan.staessen@med,kuleuven.ac.be,
www.lancet.org