Pollution also damages fertility, both male and female. More and more studies confirm this correlation, investigating, for example, the environmental effects on ovarian activity and on the amplitude of the reproductive window in womenbut also on the quality of male sperm and more generally the links with infertility, malformations of fetuses, and with diseases of the reproductive system and tumors.

The 8 recommendations of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology

The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) shares concerns about the impact of environmental factors on reproductive health and the decline in fertility rates in recent years. For this reason, at a two-day meeting in Brussels that brought together experts from various fields, it made eight recommendations on pollution and fertility.

1) Urgent policy and legislative action in response to the well-established link between environmental factors and declining fertility rates.

2) Update of the Reach and Clp regulations in the direction of minimizing exposure to chemical risk for workers and consumers, also in favor of the environment.

3) Prevention strategies aimed at women and men.

4) Correct information on potential risks of exposure due to the performance of some work.

5) The development of a digital platform to collect data in order to monitor environmental exposure and its effects on reproductive and general health.

6) Move strongly towards decarbonisation to prevent reproductive damage and create a healthier planet.

7) Raise public awareness of the risks of environmental exposure to reproductive health through public health and educational campaigns.

8) Adapt the tests of pharmaceutical and industrial companies, currently focused on pregnancy, to also evaluate the effects on fertility and gametes, becoming the standard in tests before placing the product on the European market.

The environmental factors involved

Among the environmental factors to be corrected, there are endocrine disruptors in the first line: a group of chemicals that can alter the functioning of hormones with negative effects on the health of adults and fetuses. They can cause infertility in adult life, but also be the cause of some andrological and gynecological diseases and some cancers. According to some estimates, they could be responsible for at least 20% of the incidence of diseases such as endometriosis, male infertility and cryptorchidism. The list includes pesticides, pesticides, dioxins, additives and preservatives of industrial and consumer products, some heavy metals, polyphenols (some known as phytoestrogens) as well as some drugs. These substances spread into the environment through air pollution and water and soil pollution, but are also found in urine and food: many are present in everyday plastic and metal objects, as well as in cosmetics and personal hygiene products.

Prolonged exposure to toxic substances and radiation can also adversely affect fertility. A risk that affects certain types of workers, from farmers to workers in the construction sector, from military personnel to medical and nursing personnel to those who work in the chemical, petrochemical or mining industries.

There is also scientific evidence that polluting soot particles can cross the placenta and reach the fetus, that women living near busy highways have increased infertility, and that many potentially fertility-risky pharmaceuticals are not regulated in this regard.