With the help of the SCSA test, a correlation between air pollution and seed quality could be shown. Teplice, Czech Republic was known for its childlessness and spontaneous abortion, which is probably related to the fact that lignite was burned for both industry and domestic use. The subjects of the study were 18-year-old men who enlisted in the military. Of concern, a quarter of these men had DFI values above 30%, while healthy young men of this age typically have a DFI of 5% or lower (Rubes et al. 2005).
Pollution Clinical Study
An increased incidence of infertility and miscarriage was observed in the mountain village of Teplice in the Czech Republic. The US EPA and the Czech Republic Ministry of Health sponsored a study (Rubes et al. 2005) to determine the impact of valley smog during the winter inversion period compared to the cleaner air in summer. The smog was created by industrial and private burning of soft lignite. 18-year-old army recruits in Teplice were compared to recruits from Prachatic, a mountain town with clean air.
The chart shows that 90% of the young men had elevated %DFI levels. 25% of these young men had values above 30% (DFI). Despite unremarkable values in the semen analysis, the probability of infertility is high! Males aged 18 to 20 typically have a DFI of around 5%.
In a two-year study, the % DFI was the only metric that responded to seasonal variation in smog levels—classic seed analysis values did not vary in response to smog levels.
Industrial pollution: Numerous chemicals used in industry pose significant public health concerns, including reproductive health. The EPA and NIOSH carefully monitor and regulate the levels of exposure considered safe for human health. The figure below shows the data of a married man with idiopathic infertility. For 10 years he worked in an industrial company that worked with harmful chemicals. However, he was not wearing proper protective gear. He wore protective gear for the next 10 years. During that time, the couple experienced 16 miscarriages and no live births. The figure shows that the man has a very high %DFI,