Okay dudes, we know that there's a lot of fearmongering and conspiracy theories out there. But unlike chemtrails, this one actually has science behind it. Reputable, evidence-based science.
This big news about smaller things affects us all, because it concerns something that's way too common in our lives, and that probably isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
Non-stick pans contain a class of chemicals known as PFCs. They're also in stain-repelling products and firefighting foam, so they're not uncommon even outside the home. Well, two PFC compounds, PFOA and PFOS, were found to cause serious problems for men's reproductive health.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, shows that these chemicals interfere with a man's package like a porch pirate with a grudge.
They're associated with lower sperm counts, lower sperm mobility, shorter penises, and lower "anogenital distance," which is a significant marker for reproductive ability.
The researchers studied two groups of men, one of which had been exposed to the chemicals and one that hadn't. The ones that hadn't been exposed proved to be more Luigis than Marios (i.e. taller), and had a higher percentage of normally shaped sperm, too.
Testosterone and PFCs share similar structures, so the chemicals will readily bind with the hormone and mess everything up. It sounds like the biological equivalent of realizing your new girlfriend bears a striking resemblance to your mother.
In addition to Veneto, Italy, there's the Dordrecht area in The Netherlands, Shandong, China, and the mid-Ohio Valley in West Virginia, where The Intercept reported that DuPont released the chemicals into the Ohio River. Of course, those are just the areas we know about.
They don't biodegrade, they don't just go away. They're with us forever. Scientists say that "Even if PFOA were banned today, the global mass of PFOA would continue to rise, and concentrations of PFOA in human blood would continue to build."
And, again, we have to know where these chemicals have been spilled to have a real idea of who and how many men might have been exposed beyond their non-stick pans.
The question is, what can we do about it?
One of the study's authors, Andrea Di Nisio, suggested that "We're left with the question of how to remove [these chemicals] from the blood. We have to find a way to eliminate them."
Reproductive health is serious business, so we might face a future without non-stick pans — or we might not stick around ourselves.
h/t: Endochrine Society
