1980 Chapters (Layout Features)

The Biology of Toxic Effects on Reproductive Outcomes

Stellman, Jeanne M.

Perhaps 7 percent of all births in the United States are defective, and an unknown but high number of pregnancies end in spontaneous abortion or stillbirth. In the vast majority of these cases--perhaps up to 70 percent--the cause is not known. Hundreds of agents capable of producing such effects have been identified, including many found in the workplace, but their actual impact on human reproduction has not been quantified. Armed with the general knowledge that fetotoxic agents exist in the workplace, some employers now exclude all fertile women from jobs or industries where there is a possibility of exposure. Other employers, as well as regulatory agencies and public interest groups, have not yet established policy but are actively exploring the issue. This paper discusses the scientific evidence implicating various agents encountered in the workplace as fetotoxins, and examines the adequacy of excluding fertile women alone as a means of eliminating the adverse impact of exposure. The case of inorganic lead serves to illustrate the points made.