Oestrogen mimicking chemicals, thought to be linked to poor sperm counts, and possibly breast and testicular cancers, hit the news again when Horizon updated its previous BBC2 programme recently. Readers will remember that the subject was covered in LIVING EARTH [188). Eating organic food has to be beneficial, as it lowers or avoids the intake of agrochemicals. But few can eat 100% organic, and besides, it is not just the organochlorine-based agrochemicals which mimic oestrogen and disrupt human andanimal endocrine and reproductive cycles. They are also used in, plastic food packaging and lacquers on the inside of food cans, industrial detergents, some cosmetics and the new detergentcontaining petrols, says Dr Michael Warhurst, an environmental chemist at the University of Edinburgh who produced a report on the subject for Friends of the Earth last year.
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