Your drinking water may be contributing to your hormonal and thyroid dysfunction if you live in or near an area where fracking occurs.
A recent research study by Endocrinology demonstrated that exposure to chemical contaminants from drilling and fracking via drinking water leads to reduced sperm counts in male mice, even in the smallest observed concentrations. This was after consistently drinking a mixture of water and 24 chemicals commonly used in oil and natural gas operations at various concentrations representative of typical contaminated water sources. Of course, these chemicals qualify as endocrine disrupting. Endocrine disrupting chemicals mimic or block natural hormones, which means their impact on human health is both subtle and high. Moreover, an abnormal increase in body weight and many other effects on the heart, testes, and other body parts can occur as a result of toxic chemical exposure.
Similar outcomes were observed
in another study by Endocrinology that tested pregnant female mice, where they were also given drinking water contaminated with 23 different oil and gas chemicals at four different concentrations. In addition to having a higher than normal body and heart weight, they had significantly lower levels of hormones that are critical for reproductive health as well as a smaller number of ovarian follicles (where the egg cells are ultimately stored). This means that they will end up with less eggs and a shorter fertile period than normal mice. Note that many of these toxic chemicals can affect the thyroid system resulting in thyroid dysfunction and thyroid hormone inefficiency.
It is important to know that oil and natural gas operations have been shown to contaminate both ground and surface water, meaning that people living in areas where these operations take place are at a high risk for many endocrine disorders including, but not limited to, thyroid disorders. To limit the exposure to these water-contaminating chemicals, select bottled water over tap water...
Sources:
Christopher D. Kassotis, Kara C. Klemp, Danh C. Vu, Chung-Ho Lin, Chun-Xia Meng, Cynthia L. Besch-Williford, Lisa Pinatti, R. Thomas Zoeller, Erma Z. Drobnis, Victoria D. Balise, Chiamaka J. Isiguzo, Michelle A. Williams, Donald E. Tillitt, and Susan C. Nagel; Endocrine-Disrupting Activity of Hydraulic Fracturing Chemicals and Adverse Health Outcomes After Prenatal Exposure in Male Mice; Endocrinology;
http://press.endocrine.org/doi/10.1210/en.2015-1375
Christopher D. Kassotis, John J. Bromfield, Kara C. Klemp, Chun-Xia Meng, Andrew Wolfe, R. Thomas Zoeller, Victoria D. Balise, Chiamaka J. Isiguzo, Donald E. Tillitt, and Susan C. Nagel; Adverse Reproductive and Developmental Health Outcomes Following Prenatal Exposure to a Hydraulic Fracturing Chemical Mixture in Female C57Bl/6 Mice; Endocrinology;
http://press.endocrine.org/doi/10.1210/en.2016-1242
