Study: Farm Chemicals Have Generational Effects

  • A new study exposed rats to common farm chemicals and found that the effect of the chemicals lasted multiple generations. (Photo by Tamara Bauer)

A first-of-its-kind study supports the theory that some common agricultural chemicals can cause reproductive problems that are passed down through generations. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erin Toner reports:

Transcript

A first-of-its-kind study shows some common agricultural chemicals can cause reproductive problems that are passed down through generations. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Erin Toner reports:


In the study published in the journal Science, pregnant rats were exposed to high doses of two commonly-used chemicals: a fungicide used mainly by wine makers and a pesticide that replaced DDT.


The study showed the toxins caused low sperm counts in the rats’ male offspring down through four generations. Washington State University biologist Michael Skinner led the research team.


“This is a brand-new phenomenon; the fact that an environmental toxin can cause at all a multi-generational disease state, is something we didn’t know existed.”


Skinner stresses that the level of chemicals used in the study were above the level anticipated to be in the environment. But he says the research supports the idea that such toxins are causing permanent reproductive problems in men in some parts of the world.


For the GLRC, I’m Erin Toner.

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