The use of new field methods of semen analysis in the study of occupational hazards to reproduction: the example of ethylene dibromide.

Increasing attention has been paid to the use of semen analysis as an indicator of exposure to potential mutagenic and reproductive hazards. In the infertility clinic setting, semen evaluations include the measurement of sperm concentration, volume, pH, motility, velocity and morphology, the analysis of seminal plasma to evaluate accessory sex gland function and, in some cases, the in vitro evaluation of fertilization capacity and sperm-cervical mucus interaction (Ann Intern Med 1985;103:906-919). To date, however, the study of semen characteristics of occupationally exposed populations has been confined principally to the measurement of sperm concentration and sperm morphology. This has been largely due to the unavailability of portable equipment suitable for the measurement of other semen characteristics and the difficulty of obtaining fresh semen samples in the field setting. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health researchers have developed mobile laboratory facilities which enable us to evaluate fresh samples, in the field, for semen characteristics in addition to concentration and morphology. This paper describes the application of these methods using the example of our recent cross-sectional study of workers occupationally exposed to ethylene dibromide in the papaya fumigation industry. We discuss our findings in the context of the usefulness of semen analysis as an indicator of occupational hazards to male reproduction.