Seminal lead and copper in fertile and infertile men.

Lead and copper concentrations were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy in semen from 18 fertile and 172 infertile men. Significant correlations between copper concentrations in semen and sperm concentration (r = 0.32, P less than 0.001), percentage progressive motility (r = 0.23, P less than 0.005) and normal morphology (r = 0.22, P less than 0.005) were observed, while no such correlation existed for lead. However, semen copper concentrations of infertile men (194.99 +/- 5.70 micrograms l-1) and fertile men (183.39 +/- 14.37 micrograms l-1) did not differ significantly. Mean lead concentration in semen of fertile men was 11.18 +/- 0.62 micrograms l-1 and significantly higher than lead concentration in semen of fertile men (5.61 +/- 0.53 micrograms l-1, P less than 0.006). Reinvestigation of 18 infertile men after 2 years showed a significant drop of lead concentrations in semen from 17.31 +/- 1.41 to 6.94 +/- 1.32 micrograms l-1 (P less than 0.0002), which might be related to the decreasing use of leaded petrol in the Federal Republic of Germany.