Chemical Effects On Humans And Society

The number and prevalence of known or suspected carcinogens is growing. Many environmental contaminants are manufactured synthetic chemicals; waste and by-products of industrial processes; chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals used in farming and for landscaping; chemicals used in other commercial activities; combustion by-products of petroleum-powered engines; water disinfection/chlorination by-products; and both man-made and natural sources of radiation (Reuben 16).

The above research shows that endocrine disruptors may pose the greatest risk during prenatal and early postnatal development when organ and neural systems are developing. Additionally, the consequences in animals linked to early exposure may not be apparent until later in life, but EDC’s can affect subfertility, premature reproductive senescence, and cancer. These issues are our greatest concern, and alternative precautionary strategies must be adopted, which including seeking to eliminate or minimize unnecessary risks to the fetus, even in the absence of clear proof of harm. Some of these steps can be taken by individuals, such as lifestyle changes in women who are pregnant, and reducing exposures through the release of chemicals to the environment. However, clinicians and scientist must educate law officials and the public about the threats of endocrine disruptors in order to adverse the trends of disease and destruction throughout the

The purpose of this article is to explain an investigation attempting to correlate negative behavioral effects observed in adult male fighting fish, Betta splendens, with exposure to waterborne phytoestrogens. The phytoestrogens the B. splendens were exposed to were genistein, equol, β-sitosterol, and 17 β-estradiol. Behavioral effects of exposure were analyzed by monitoring spontaneous swimming movements, amount of time it took to react to an alleged intruder, amount of aggression toward that alleged intruder, likelihood of building a nest whilst among a female B. splendens and the area of said nest. This study was conducted given there has been no research done on the behavioral biomarkers resulting from waterborne phytoestrogens as an environmental contaminant to aquatic species, even though these animals are the highest probability of experiencing phytoestrogen exposure in their natural habitats. Additionally, when considering phytoestrogens’ ability to cause reproductive and developmental malfunction in fishes, waterborne phytoestrogen’s presence in sewage treatment plants’ liquid waste, runoff from agricultural areas utilizing manure and wood pulp mills ' liquid waste is concerning.

The chemicals are also affecting the wildlife like fish. One effect that has been observed is that fish are becoming more female like because of the hormonal drugs found in the water.

One way PCBs are detrimental to human health is the developmental effects that are seen in the offspring of women who were exposed to PCBs before or during pregnancy. These women in particular are at higher risk of giving birth to children that have major neurological and motor control problems, including lowered IQ and poor short-term memory. A group of children in Michigan whose mothers had been exposed to PCBs were found to have decreased birth weight and head size, lowered performance on standardized memory, psychomotor and behavioral tests, and lowered IQ (Jacobson and Jacobson 1996). Another group of women exposed to PCBs in upstate New York due to the nature of their jobs had shorter pregnancies and gave birth to children with lower birth weight. Research has also shown that women who consumed PCB-contaminated fish from Lake Ontario were found to have shortened menstrual cycles (Mendola et al 1997). PCBs are also thought to play a role in reduced sperm counts, altered sex organs, premature puberty, and changed sex ratios of

As a result, evidence was proven that the lab animals tested with the endocrine-disrupting chemicals, distinctively increased in size and weight. From the University of California, Bruce Blumberg was one of the first scientists to notice a link between the disrupting chemicals and obesity in the lab animals; resulting in his theory to be that “obsesogens” were causing the animals to gain fat. Obsesogens are classified as common chemicals found in our environment and are endocrine-disruptors that appear to be most dangerous when taken in small quantities. From the University of Missouri, Fred Vom Saal was researching on the effects of Bisphenol-A (an endocrine-disruptor) and injected them with a small dose of BPA equivalent to the amount a human would ingest in a day. Results have shown that it had caused reproductive abnormalities of weight gain. From the U.S National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), Retha Newbold studied the health effects on D.E.S, which is a hormone replacement drug, have found to be linked with ovarian cancer. Newbold’s research experiment was to inject the rats with D.E.S, and results significantly showed the animals became obese due to the chemical. All the experiments conducted, had shown that the endocrine disrupting chemical did indeed include a link to the obesity in the lab

As mentioned above BPA, NP and DEHP have previously been shown to be ER agonists. In fish, gonad development and reproductive activity is associated with sex steroid hormones such as 17β-estradiol (E2), testosterone (T) and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT, a non-aromatizable form of T). Hence environmental contaminants that interfere with steroid hormone receptors function and synthesis have a potential to impair endocrine control of reproductive functions. Therefore, a part of our study is directed toward the effect of these compounds on the reproductive system by investigating the expression of genes involved in reproduction, gonadal differentiation and steroidogenesis (Vtg, DMRT, estrogen receptor subtypes, AR, STAR, aromatase, LHR, FSHR, activin, follistatin) in gonad and hepatic

There are many issues that are associated with women and children. The most essential issues are chemical exposure, social exposure and diet. Chemical exposure affect the human biochemical process that helps with human functioning. Also, chemical exposure affect children involuntarily through their mothers and the environment that they are surrounded by. Chemical exposure affects the development of a growing child’s organs and body system. Obesity has been an ongoing problem and will continue to be in the future (Kotch, 2013). For the mother and fetus, obesity can have a negative effect. Such as, diabetes, preeclampsia and after giving birth heart disease and hypertension in mothers. In the fetus, the risk are stillbirth and other inherited

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that can interfere with our endocrine system in our bodies. These chemicals can mimic hormones that occur naturally and can create sever health issues, parental and postnatal development problems for children and can endanger us and wildlife. Endocrine disruptors bind to cells and therefore does not allow the natural hormone to bind properly to the cell. The hormone’s signal cannot occur which means that the body is not able to respond to the signal. They can also prevent the making and the control of the hormones and their receptors by changing their metabolism.

During recent years, numerous newspaper and magazine articles have suggested that humans may be at risk because small amounts of well known environmental contaminants, such as dioxin, PCBs and DDT, can affect hormone levels. Hormones are produced by the endocrine system as regulators of biological function in target organs. Because hormones play a critical role in early development, toxicological effects on the endocrine system often have an impact on the reproductive system. The term endocrine disruptor is used to describe chemicals that can mimic hormones and may either enhance or counteract their effects. It has been suggested that these hormone changes can, in turn, lead to a variety of health problems

One of the most disturbing scientific findings of recent years was the extent of the influence upon the endocrine system of various common chemicals, industrial products, and common pharmaceuticals such as birth control pills. To track the presence of endocrine disruptors within the bodies of fish, which have been shown to be particularly vulnerable to the changes caused by such products in the environment, scientists genetically-engineered zebra fish embryos "to glow in places where an endocrine-disrupting chemical is present" over the course of the fish's development "and thus show where it may be harming the body" (Handwerk 2012). The genetic engineering using proteins found in glowing jellyfish naturally in the wild is specifically designed to not interfere with the fish's natural systems, yet still provides a way of tracking how the chemicals act in the body using a fluorescent microscope.

Many scientific researchers have said that our environment has been filled with toxic chemicals, which us humans have had a part of. There are many different issues that should concern us surrounding these toxic chemicals. The major concern is that many of these toxic chemicals have been claimed to be causing damage to the health of humans and even other life forms. Another concern is that most of the theses toxic chemicals have just recently been produced; and by our environment changing everyday there is no telling what effects these toxic chemicals may have in the long run on the public 's health. Just about all of these toxic chemicals exist in the way they do because of humans. As humans we practice a lot of different activities that cause toxic chemicals to pollute our environment such as, agriculture, industrial, and many domestic activities as well. Many of the toxic chemicals that we produce and use don 't get used in a effective way, which causes them to be wasted, left abandoned, and disposed of. When toxic chemicals are not disposed of properly they effect the environment and the public 's health in a negative way.

The impact of certain estrogenic xenobiotics on the reproductive system development and health of animals has been clearly documented. Findings, such as ours demonstrate thathumans are also exposed at risk. As data accumulate regarding to infertility, genital tract malformations and increasing cancer rates in estrogen target tissues (especially the breast),

In today’s society chemicals, whether you like it or not are a fact of life. Many people are afraid of chemicals and their effects on them and the environment. This is understandable because the truth of the matter is that chemicals can do some horrible things to humans, animals and the whole ecosystem. Some would say that chemicals should be done away with for these reasons. But this certainly is not true and most likely impossible. Chemicals can also have some very positive effects on our lives. Some uneducated people would argue that there should not be restrictions on chemicals. This is just as crazy as saying that chemicals should be done away with. If chemicals are regulated and people abide

In a cross-sectional study on humans showed an Inverse associations between Organochlorine (OC) pesticide concentrations (endosulfsan) and testosterone in men, suggest that these OC compounds may have triggered anti-androgenic effects in men and estrogenic effects in women in this population20.