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CISDOC database
| Document ID (ISN) | 49914 |
| CIS number |
88-1271 |
| ISSN - Serial title |
0007-1072 - British Journal of Industrial Medicine |
| Year |
1987 |
| Convention or series no. |
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| Author(s) |
Ratcliffe J.M., Schrader S.M., Steenland K., Clapp D.E., Turner T., Hornung R.W. |
| Title |
Semen quality in papaya workers with long-term exposure to ethylene dibromide |
| Bibliographic information |
May 1987, Vol.44, No.5, p.317-326. 48 ref. |
| Abstract |
A cross-sectional study of semen quality was conducted among 46 men employed in the papaya fumigation industry in Hawaii, with an average duration of exposure to ethylene dibromide (EDB) of 5yrs and a geometric mean breathing zone exposure to airborne EDB of 88ppb (8h TWA) and peak exposures of up to 262ppb. The control group consisted of 43 unexposed men from a nearby sugar refinery. Significant decreases in sperm count per ejaculate, the percentage of viable and motile sperm, and increases in the proportion of sperm with specific morphological abnormalities (tapered heads, absent heads, and abnormal tails) were observed among exposed men by comparison with controls after consideration of smoking, caffeine and alcohol consumption, age, abstinence, history of urogenital disorders, and other potentially confounding variables. No effect of exposure to EDB on sperm velocity, the overall proportion of sperm with normal morphology, or YFF bodies was observed. These data strongly suggest that EDB may increase the risk of reproductive impairment in workers at exposure levels near the NIOSH recommended limit of 45ppb (as an 8h TWA) and far below the current standard of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration of 20ppm. |
| Descriptors (primary) |
antifertility effects; fumigation; dibromoethane; fruit processing and storing; fumigants |
| Descriptors (secondary) |
Hawaii |
| Document type |
D - Periodical articles |
| Subject(s) |
Agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry
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| Broad subject area(s) |
Chemical safety
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| Browse category(ies) |
Agricultural chemicals
Genetic factors in reaction to exposures
Antifertility and prenatal effects
Halogenated hydrocarbons
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