Barnett Shale benzene exposure messes up your sperm

Bad news, fellas.

“Benzene appeared to increase the frequencies of aneuploid sperm for chromosomes associated with chromosomal abnormality syndromes in human offspring, even in men whose air benzene exposure was at or below the US PEL.”

PEL=Permissible Exposure Level

Link

Benzene is a common industrial chemical that is known to induce leukemia and other blood disorders, as well as aneuploidy in both human blood cells and sperm at exposures above 10 ppm. Recent reports have identified health effects at exposure levels below 1 ppm, the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL; 8 hour) set by US OSHA.

Oh no! Here’s more bad news:

Chinese factory workers exposed to levels of chemical deemed safe show sperm abnormalities

Exposure to benzene at levels considered safe for workers by US authorities can put men at a higher risk of fathering children with genetic diseases and leukaemia, according to research published this month in Environmental Health Perspectives.

The conclusion of this particular study:

They conclude that given the results of this study, current occupational air standards for benzene in the USA may not be low enough to protect men from adverse reproductive health effects.

If you live in the Barnett Shale, DO NOT REPRODUCE!