The soaring number of gender-bending chemicals in the environment has disturbing fertility implications for humans and wildlife, scientists are warning.

    They say wild animals are being "feminised" by a host of common man-made pollutants which mimic the female sex hormone oestrogen and escape into seas, rivers, the earth and air when waste is disposed of.

    The chemicals--found in food packaging, cleaning products, plastics, sewage and paint--cause genital deformities, reduce sperm count and even turn males into females.

    Dozens of species--including polar bears, fish, whales and otters--are suffering, according to the environmental group ChemTrust.

    Fish have been badly hit by man-made gender-bending chemicals. In one study, half the male fish in British lowland rivers had signs of being feminised.

    But all vertebrates--or creatures with backbones--have similar sex hormone receptors in their bodies. "Therefore, observations in one species may serve to highlight pollution issues of concern for other vertebrates, including humans," the report says.

    Its author, Gywnne Lyons, a former government adviser on chemical-pollution, said: "Urgent action is needed to control gender-bending chemicals and more resources are needed for monitoring wildlife."

    "If wildlife populations crash, it will be too late. Unless enough males contribute to the next generation there is a real threat to animal populations in the long term."

    Some studies have shown that sperm counts in the West have fallen over the past 30 years. Others have shown a rise in boys born with genital deformities.

    Communities heavily polluted with hormone-disrupting chemicals in Russia, Canada and Italy have produced twice as many girls as boys.

    科學家警告說，環境中有越來越多可以改變性征的化學物，這對人類和野生動物的繁殖力產生了負面影響。

    科學家說，由于一些產生雌性激素效應的人為污染物被處理時流失到大海、河流、土地以及空氣中，因此，野生動物變得“雌性化”。

    這些化學品可以在食物包裝材料、清洗劑產品、塑料、污水和涂料中找到。他們可能會造成生殖器畸形、精子數量減少，甚至令雄性變成雌性。

    據環保組織ChemTrust說，包括北極熊、魚類、鯨魚和水獺在內的數十種動物都受到了這種影響。

    人為的改變性征的化學物對魚類的影響特別大。一項研究顯示，英國下游河流中一半左右的雄性魚都有雌性化的跡象。

    這項報告的作者格溫·萊昂斯曾經擔任政府在化學污染問題方面的顧問。她說，“我們需要采取緊急措施來控制這些改變性征的化學物。我們需要更多的資源來監測野生動物。”

    “如果野生動物數目減少，那就會太晚了。除非有足夠的雄性來繁衍新生代，否則長久以往，動物的數目將面臨真正的威脅。”

    其它一些研究顯示，西方男性的精子數量在過去30年中有所下降。另外的調查顯示，出生時生殖器畸形的男嬰數目有所增加。

    在俄羅斯、加拿大和意大利一些嚴重受到可以擾亂性征的化學物污染的地區，女嬰的出生率要高過男嬰一倍之多。