The other day I placed on my website a collection of Swedish trade union publications from the 1990s that dealt with chemical and EMF hazards in the workplace. See: Redefining the Concept of Workplace ‘Risk” in Sweden. https://www.emfacts.com/download/SIF_Risk_webversion_2.pdf
In one of the Swedish publications I have it is mentioned that in starting in the late 1970s annual testing by the Karolinska institute started seeing traces of brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in human beast milk and later testing saw an annual increase of BFRs in breast milk. The long tern effects were not known but BFRs are endocrine disruptors. The source was most likely computer equipment outgassing in workplaces. Older computers with CRT monitors were particularly prone to emitting hazardous chemical emissions. (See the above publication) The concern here is that if new-born infants are ingesting BFR contaminated milk from birth, how will that affect them later in life?
BFRs have also been found in breast milk in the US according to a 2023 paper. To quote in part from the abstract: The presence of phased-out PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ethers – a class of BFRs) bromophenols, and other current-use flame retardants in breast milk reflects ongoing prenatal exposure and increased risk for adverse impacts on infant development.” (1)
The research by Sweden the 1990s and earlier saw that chemical emissions were an important factor of what was termed electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS). The research indicated that chemical exposures were an initiating factor in sensitivity EHS. (2) In the CFS/EHS study we conducted (with Rapley, Podd, et al ) there were two cases where a young man and woman developed debilitating CFS symptoms soon after starting work in unventilated rooms full of computers early in the 1990s. The idea was possibly the chemical emissions from the computers were at fault. As the Swedes found, evidence suggests this may be an important issue.
All this made me consider that the recent ABC 4 Corners program on gender dysphoria [ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-11/blocked:-the-battle-over-youth-gender-care/102587506 ] has missed an unrecognised possible chemical factor in the apparent rapidly increasing cases of gender dysphoria, and not just in Australia.
A quick Google search found the following:
Microplastics in Our Waters, an unquestionable concern https://extension.psu.edu/microplastics-in-our-waters-an-unquestionable-concern
Leaching of endocrine disrupting chemicals from marine microplastics and mesoplastics under common life stress conditions https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412019303137
Study: Most Plastics Leach Hormone-Like Chemicals https://www.npr.org/2011/03/02/134196209/study-most-plastics-leach-hormone-like-chemicals
Microplastics found in breast milk: https://www.newfoodmagazine.com/news/168761/microplastics-found-in-breast-milk/
Microplastics found in human breast milk for the first time: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/oct/07/microplastics-human-breast-milk-first-time
Study Finds Concerning Evidence of Microplastics in Human Breast Milk: https://www.resonanceglobal.com/blog/study-finds-concerning-evidence-of-microplastics-in-human-breast-milk
Microplastics and Their Impact on Reproduction—Can we Learn From the C. elegans Model
Excerpt: The ability of MPs/NPs to carry contaminants, toxic chemicals, pesticides, and bioactive compounds, such as endocrine disrupting chemicals, present an additional risk to animal and human health.
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ftox.2022.748912/full
Gender Fluidity and Hormone Disruptors: https://www.psychologytoday.com/au/blog/the-human-beast/201911/gender-fluidity-and-hormone-disruptors
Are EDCs Blurring Issues of Gender? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1281309/
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Gender Dysphoria. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/endocrine-disrupting-chemicals-gender-dysphoria-mark-gordon/
Excerpt: Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a diverse group of chemical compounds found in various consumer products (such as makeup, lotion, hair care products, shaving creams, toothpaste, suntan lotions, personal lubricant, and some deodorants), industrial processes, and environmental contaminants (1). These substances possess the ability to interfere with the endocrine system, leading to adverse health effects in humans and wildlife (2). Mounting evidence suggests that exposure to EDCs can disrupt the hormonal environment and influence the development of gender identity (3, 4). This brief article will provide an insight into the harmful effects of EDCs on the hormonal balance and their potential contribution to the formation of gender identity ambiguity.
Queering chemicals (EDCs): A bibliography https://discardstudies.com/2019/04/15/queering-edcs-a-bibliography/
An endocrine disrupting chemical, bisphenol A: could it be associated with sex differentiation in brain regarding to transsexuality? https://www.endocrine-abstracts.org/ea/0037/ea0037ep208
However, gender dysphoria is not new and has always been with civilisation; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender_history. The Romans were particularly good at it…….
However the big question now is: Is there now a new factor in an apparent big increase in the condition?
And, if our increasing exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals in today’s modern world is a significant factor in gender dysphoria, that does not bode well for the future if these chemicals continue to be widely used.
Further relevant reading:
Gunni Nordstrom: The Dangers of Environmental Illnesses Caused by Electromagnetic Fields and Chemical Emissions
Louis Samways: The Chemical Connection.
Stauber and Rampton: Toxic Sludge is Good For You
Yvonne Dolman: Children, Fools and Pesticides by (An Australian book)
Don Maisch
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1) Schreder E. et al, Brominated flame retardants in breast milk from the United States: “First detection of bromophenols in U.S. breast milk”, Environ Pollut, June 12, 2023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37315884/#:~:text=Brominated%20flame%20retardants%20(BFRs)%20are,health%20risks%20for%20breastfeeding%20infants
2) Nordstrom G., The Dangers of Environmental Illnesses Caused by Electromagnetic Fields and Chemical Emissions, 2004
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