The Disappearing Male (2008)

Answer the following questions while watching the documentary (it seems to
work on vimeo- HYPERLINK "http://vimeo.com/15346778" http://vimeo.com/15346778 -but
can be found in many locations through a quick google search). The number of marks for
each question is in brackets. There are 17 questions for a total of 20marks.

1. By how much has the sperm count of young males decreased? (1)

Has decreased by half

2. How has the WHO changed the standards of classifying a healthy sperm count? (1)

Lowering the classification of normal, because when donors come in to give sperm, there
cant be too many classified as abnormal.

3. Why are synthetic pesticides such as DDT (banned 40 years ago) still affecting
alligator populations? (1)

DDT is an old chemical and its persistent, still lingering in lakes. Its lowering alligators
ability to reproduce, lowering their testosterone, and increasing sexual abnormalities.

4. The endocrine system stimulates _growth_, regulates our _metabolism_, and controls
_reproduction_. (1)

5. Endocrine system glands release chemical messengers such as _testosterone_, which is

critical to male sexual development. (1)

6. What type of problems can synthetic chemical cause for the endocrine system? (1)

Can block or disrupt the functioning of testosterone in body, permanently damaging male
sexual development in children.

7. Which key synthetic invention is essential for the modern age? (1)

Plastic

8. Where are virtually all 90,000 synthetic compounds derived from? (1)

Petroleum

9. Which generation was the first to be exposed to synthetic chemicals? (1)

People in the 1940s were exposed to excessive amount of chemicals, the first to be born
in the 1950s were the first generation.

10. Who are most at risk to synthetic compounds? (1)

Most threatened are children and babies, but most at risk have never been born.

11. Describe the Aamjiwaang First Nations (Sarnia) case study. (3)

A reserve in Sarnia

Surrounded by one of the worlds largest Petro Chemical Complexes

Average year release 130,000 tons of toxic chemicals into the air

Known for having sharpest decline of male births in 2006

Half as many boys being born compared to girls

First human case of extinction

12. List at least 4 examples of where phthalates can commonly be found in society
today. (2)

Soft toys (Leach out of plastic Ex. Teddy Bears)

Personal Care Products (hair gel, deodorant, body wash etc)

Cosmetics

Perfume

13. Where do products such as skin cream end up after it is applied? (1)

Absorbed into the body skins surface

14. What was Bisphenol A (BPA) originally designed as? (1)

A possible drug for hormone treatment (synthetic estrogen), then it was discovered that it
could be used in plastics as a way of making packaging shatter proof.

15. Who conducted the studies on BPA and phthalates that found no adverse effects in
humans? (1)

All no effect case studies were commissioned by chemical industry.

16. What was one of the first items (as a powerful symbol) with BPA to be removed
from store shelves and regulated in Canada? (1)

Walmart stopped selling products with BPA and took some plastic baby bottles off the
shelves.

17. What percentage of synthetic chemicals has never been tested on the human body?
(1)
85% have never gone under testing.