Can plastic cause penis defects? This study may shock you
Scientists have found that chemicals in plastics may cause genitalia defects
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HEALTH Plastic
While the world debates the environmental effects of wasteful plastic usage, there is one effect that hits a little closer to home. Scientists have discovered that certain chemicals in plastics cause penis defects and shrinkage—yikes.
Researchers from the University of Melbourne found that penis defects have almost doubled among men in the country and plastic may be the cause of it.
The defect is called hypospadia, and it means that the opening of the penis is actually on the underside of the appendage rather than on the tip, which causes functionality problems. The chemicals that cause hypospadia are BPA and phthalates, parabens used in toothpaste, and atrazine in herbicide.
“Exposure to these chemicals, this is the No. 1 reproductive issue for men,” researcher Andrew Pask told News.au. “No one likes to talk about this. Often parents don’t even like to tell their kids they had it — it gets surgically repaired but often the surgeries don’t work very well."
“When it’s doubling, it cannot be genetic defects — it takes years for that to spread through a population. So we know it has to be environmental in origin,” he said.
You've never had a better reason to get a reusable water bottle, right boys?