Our stolen future

The publication of Our Stolen Future  (see PN 31 p6) has fuelled the debate as to whether synthetic chemicals have effects on human reproductive system by causing disruption of the endocrine system. Written primarily by Theo Colborn of the World Wildlife Fund in the US, the book follows and assesses a whole range of diverse research which has identified disruptions in the breeding cycles on numerous animals, from fish and birds to otters and whales. These were accompanied by increases in birth defects, sexual abnormalities, and reproductive failure. The effects have been linked to the presence in the environment of chemicals, such as pesticides such as DDT and lindane, that mimic natural hormones and trick the reproductive system. Theo Colborn has also examined the effects on humans. Male sperm counts have dropped as much as 50% in recent decades, and women have seen a dramatic rise in hormone-related cancers.
    The book has generated many reviews and comments. Some are describing it as the most important analysis of environmental pollution since Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, The New York Times  has not been so generous describing the work as unscientific. This may have more to do with the format of the Our Stolen Future which is at times is chatty, and always informative to the lay reader. Nevertheless, the science on which it is based is well founded. The chemical industry has also rejected Colborn's claims, stating that the hypothesis is very controversial. However, industry is concerned enough to fund research into this whole topic.

Our Stolen Future, Theo Colborn, John Peterson Myers and Dianne Dumanoski, Little Brown, £18.95, 304pp.