Study Tackles Environmental Chemicals And Fertility

Tuesday, May 20, 2008 - 09:56 in Biology & Nature

Each day we risk exposure to around 70,000 chemicals. In food packaging or even the air we breathe, contact with potentially-toxic substances could be affecting our health, including fertility. The Reproductive Effects of Environmental Chemicals in Females Consortium (REEF) is one of the first studies tackling the effect of environmental chemicals on female mammals. REEF will receive a total of £2.4m in funding from the EU. Dr Richard Lea and Dr Kevin Sinclair at The University of Nottingham will receive a £500,000 grant for their work researching how these chemicals impact on mammalian fertility. Dr Lea and Dr Sinclair will study the impact of low levels of environmental chemicals on sheep foetuses in the womb. The specific chemicals to be studied are found in human sewage sludge which is frequently spread on fields where sheep graze prior to entering the human food chain. read more

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