DBCP and Birth Defects

Dibromochloropropane or DBCP has a special impact on the testes and has mutagenic and carcinogenic effects in animals. Nonetheless DBCP was marketed as a nematocide. Its use led to the discovery that exposure could result in male sterility and azoospermia. Now, birth defects are reported in areas contaminated by DBCP and perhaps by other agents.

An analysis of the current health questions posed by DBCP by J.R. Goldsmith is found in a review "Preventive strategies for Living in a Chemical World" (Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sc. 837: 300, 1997). Companion reviews focus on carcinogenicity of gasoline and other fuels, benzene, hexame, chlorine, insecticides, pentachlorophenol, and on the use of economics in environmental decision making, breast cancer, genetic monitoring, long-lasting legacy of industrial carcinogens, and other topics.