The average sperm count of the American male is dropping, and at an alarming rate.

According to Mark Castleman, managing editor of Medical Self-Care, the proportion of men who have 100 million sperm per milliliter of semen has dropped from 80 percent in 1929 to 22 percent in 1977, and it is not entirely known why.

While the media often said the lowered sperm count might be related to a society-wide increase in sexual activity or the use of tight-fitting underwear, Florida State University professor Robert C. Dougherty suggested that toxic chemicals were the main cause of the sperm count decrease. He found high levels of four toxins in semen samples taken from 132 student volunteers: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT, hexachlorobenzene (all known carcinogens) and teratogens (known to cause birth defects). The most frequent sperm count of the students was 20 million per milliliter; a sperm count below that number indicates fertility problems.

What causes this toxic exposure, and why are sperm so susceptible to these toxins? Carcinogens (cancer causing substances) cause tumors most quickly in tissues composed of rapidly dividing cells, and the cells that divide most in adult men are those involved in sperm production.

Chemical pesticides and herbicides have been linked to sperm depletion, as well as other manmade chemicals such as plutonium (which is carried in detectable amounts by all living people today), as well as the synthetic estrogen DES that was added to about 80% of the animal feed produced in the US from the 1950s to 1980.  The nausea combatant drug Phenobarbital, if taken during pregnancy, has been found to cause birth defects in the offspring of the children who were born while the mothers were taking the drug.

Also, many antibiotics such as penicillin and tetracycline suppress sperm production. Smoking, tobacco or marijuana, has also been found to reduce sperm counts, regular intake of caffeine, and consumption of soy products may have sperm- and offspring-damaging impacts

What are some of the effects of low sperm counts? Evidence suggests that men with low sperm counts are more likely to produce offspring with birth defects. It has been noted that artificial insemination of women with frozen sperm from third-party donors results in a birth defect rate of 1percent or less, as opposed to the overall American birth defect rate of 4.5 - 6 percent. The most important reason for that decline in birth defect rates is that artificial insemination laboratories accept only men with high sperm counts.

Baxter International Inc. has assumed responsibility in the nation-wide heparin contamination that endangered the health of thousands. Though they have admitted fault for their role in the distribution of the defective drug, Baxter denies any part in “deliberate” contamination.

Reports of serious allergic reactions and deaths associated with heparin doses began late in December of 2007. By January, there were sufficient reports of adverse reactions to prompt Baxter to recall about 10 percent of their annual production of heparin.

The contamination was finally linked to heparin manufacturing plants in China last March. Since then, there have been numerous investigations to find the responsible parties, since Chinese drug manufacturing is significantly less regulated than that in the United States.

The defective drug lawyers at Cappolino Dodd  Krebs LLP take on cases of defective drugs and injury caused by negligent companies. Have you been injured due to faulty pharmaceuticals? call our Texas office today.

Some American soldiers are accusing the military contractor Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) of  putting their lives at risk by exposing them to toxic substances.

In April of 2003, James Gentry arrived in Southern Iraq to take command of more than 600 Indiana National Guardsmen who were protecting KBR contractors working at a local watering plant.

“We didn’t question what we were doing, we just knew we had to provide a security service for the KBR,” said Battalion Cmdr. Gentry. But today, James Gentry is dying from a rare form of lung cancer as a result of months of inhaling hexavalent chromium, an orange dust that is part of a toxic chemical found all over the plant.

At least one other Indiana guardsman has already died from lung cancer, and others are suffering from tumors and rashes consistent with exposure to the toxin.

There is evidence that indicates KBR knew about the deadly exposure danger months before the soldiers were informed. Depositions from KBR employees addressed concerns about the toxin in one part of the plant as early as May of 2003. KBR minutes from a later meeting state that “60 percent of the people … exhibit symptoms of exposure,” including bloody noses and rashes.

In a statement, the multi-billion dollar contractor told CBS News: “We deny the assertion that KBR harmed troops and was responsible for an unsafe condition.”

KBR says it notified the Army as soon as it identified the toxin, but some Indiana guardsmen say they only just learned of the risk. “I didn’t know I was exposed to a deadly carcinogen until five years later when I received a letter,” said Indiana National Guardsman Jody Aistrop.